Overtime
by jespah
Summary: A temporal fix, Dana 'Mack' MacKenzie her barnstorming sports team were back in the original timeline thanks to the 32nd c Temporal Integrity Commission. But w/a Temporal Cold War, the faction responsible could just as easily do it again. Agent Rick Daniels had to return, as Mack her 2nd cousin, Martin Madden of the Enterprise, were kept apart by an unjust law. Can love win?
1. 1-Essentials

A temporal fix, and Dana 'Mack' MacKenzie and her barnstorming sports team were restored to the original timeline by the employees of the Temporal Integrity Commission, in the 32nd century.

But there was a Temporal Cold War raging, and the faction responsible could just as easily do it again. Agent Rick Daniels had to return to fix that. He also had to keep an imperfectly designed and poorly understood piece of technology – the source of the original temporal disruption – from being fired again, by a rogue Section 31 operative.

In the meantime, Mack and her team would go to Daranaea, where games would be played, and their Communications Officer was set to be wed. Mack and her second cousin, Martin Madden of the USS Enterprise-E, would attend together. They were kept apart by an unjust and poorly drafted incest law. Would they deny their feelings? Or would they fight the law?

Star Trek the Next Generation

 _Overtime_

A Star Trek Fan Fiction By  
J. R. Gershen-Siegel

TrekUnited Publishing

 **This is a fan written work**

The copyrights & trademarks of Star Trek are owned by  
Paramount Pictures, CBS Corporation and their licensee, Pocket Books. Any attempt to sell or rent this book should be reported to the copyright owners for their action

Chapter 1 – Essentials

When sports teams are tied, at the end of regulation play, many sports allow for at least one overtime period. The participants get a chance to break the tie and have one team or the other establish its superiority. This is the essence of overtime.

But the other meaning is about working past one's allotted hours. Often, pay is increased, although the United Federation of Planets didn't officially have money on September 23rd of 2379. Still, some small pockets of space and some systems did. But that is immaterial – back to the teams.

It was more than two teams – factions, really – that were vying for supremacy. But their battle wasn't over points or yards or goals. Instead, their focus was on time.

A Temporal Cold War was raging, and the battlefield was time itself, all the way from their present time, in the 31st century, to 2379 and even earlier, and everything in between. Technology did have its limitations, but the factions pushed the temporal envelope anyway.

Or they would have their attention diverted by something of interest in time, or they would seek an advantage by assuring that someone or other who stood in their way could never be born.

Fortunately for the Temporal Integrity Commission – the agency tasked with mopping up the many temporal spills and side effects of the conflict – their operatives were protected by a temporal field. Their ancestors back to the proverbial Adam and Eve could be wiped from existence, but the agents themselves would remain intact, and able to pitch in and restore their own ancestries.

Richard Daniels, an agent of the Temporal Integrity Commission, had originally been sent to 2380 to prevent and divert a temporal shockwave that had made the prime, correct timeline jump its tracks. His boss, Admiral Carmen Calavicci, had come along to help, as there were issues in the Mirror Universe. She and Rick agreed that 2380 had been caused by a rather specific issue in 2379.

It was, in part, just an accident. A certain piece of equipment, unknown and unfinished, and improperly calibrated, had been engaged. It was a modified pulse cannon, a kind of combination dark matter collector and drive, and a pulse shot generator. Combined, these elements could allow anyone to travel in time, or even a ship to do so. But the article wasn't properly calibrated and so instead it had wrought some temporal havoc.

A Temporal Cold War faction run by a man known only as 'Future Guy' had sat up and taken notice at this firing of a pulse shot, so many years before the technology was truly perfected. And that was when the fun had really started.

But back to 2379. A woman named Misty Dana MacKenzie – 'Mack' to most – owned an odd Gorn ship and used it to ferry around her barnstorming sports team, _The Black Sheep_. The _Sheep_ were a ragtag group, fitting in perfectly with the ship, which was cylindrical, and resembled a sandwich cookie. Mack herself had dubbed it the _Cookie_ , and it and her team fit in with her – she had been a baseball player, and was also an ex-convict, only recently exonerated. Formality was not in her nature, and any semblance of protocols had been left behind long ago, in Canamar Prison.

Her team included members of several species, including a graceful Calafan woman named Yi'imspi. Yi'imspi – who superficially looked human, except for her silver extremities and very, very short hair – was lovely enough to have done modeling on Tellar. But she was also canny enough to have studied several languages. In the age of universal translators, there were only two reasons why anyone would bother to study a foreign tongue. One was if you were going into Communications. After all, technology could still fail at times. The other reason was espionage. Yi'imspi wasn't in Communications.

Mack didn't know this when she had hired Yi'imspi. It was only in an alternate timeline that anyone had learned this. Rick, protected by the temporal field, was able to both remember events and consult records from alternate lines. But Mack and the others could not.

All Mack knew was that her ship had any number of strange and wonderful – and often unfinished – inventions. She didn't know about pulse shots, but she did know about an ionization diffuser, which was a kind of proto-cloaking device. Barely legal in Federation space, the ionization diffuser was meant to be a secret. Yet someone had recently tampered with it. That part was unsettling enough.

Mack also knew that she was truly, madly, deeply in love with her second cousin. He – Martin Douglas Madden – was the First Officer on the _Enterprise-E_. He felt the same way about her. But there was a very real and very unfair incest law standing in their way, which forbade second and first cousin marriages. Ruining her reputation wasn't much of an issue for Mack, being an ex-con. Even proven innocent, her reputation still wasn't the best. An accusation of incest would be annoying, and would possibly eat into her profits, but it would, overall, probably not harm her any worse than she was already harmed by life and her own circumstances. Not so for Marty.

Marty had – with Mack unavailable to him, and in prison, to boot – thrown himself into two pursuits over the years. These were trying to free her and getting ahead. It took nineteen years for her appeals to finally bear fruit. In the meantime, he had become perhaps the tenth or so most powerful regular spacefarer in the Federation, behind his superior officer, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and some, but not all, of the other captains in the fleet. Unable to have Mack – only he called her Mystic – the possibility of making captain before he turned sixty was an attractive one.

Mack and Marty's lives had been upended even before the unexpected temporal shenanigans. The ionization diffuser had, every time it had been run, attracted other attentions. The Mirror Universe and Section 31 were both fascinated, and they had both sent Yi'imspi to investigate. Neither of these two groups knew that the operative was being shared. Other interested parties were Temporal Cold War factions and a small remaining pocket of Augments, who made their home in a tiny corner of the old Delphic Expanse.

Regular bursts of radiation cycled through various locations where temporal activity had occurred. These energy fluctuations cycled through a variety of radiation bands. The radiation band, or hydrogen line, was a perfectly reliable means of determining which universe someone or something belonged to. Ours is 21 centimeters; the Mirror is 20. Other universes differ accordingly and not necessarily by whole centimeter units. The differences might even relate to temporal differences.

Marty and Mack's lives were thrust into the spotlight when they were tested, and found to be sporting radiation bands of less than 21 centimeters. A total of thirteen such persons were found, and they could all trace their lineage back to one Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett, a man from the Mirror Universe who had been brought over in 2157 by the Calafans, Yi'imspi's own species.

Their relatives included shipmates Geordi LaForge and Michael Daniels. Another relation was the recent transfer from the _USS Talos_ – Marty's old ship – Tamsin Jennifer Porter. She'd had her eye on Marty, and at times would threaten him with exposure for his near-incestuous ways. She was that jealous of Mack.

But Mack was on the _Cookie_ , and it was two days before the pulse shot was to be fired, although she didn't know that. All she knew was that she didn't want her things tampered with, and so she was having her Chief Engineer, Wesley Crusher, and her Communications Officer, a fluffy white Daranaean named Crita, install hidden surveillance cameras. Mack was bound and determined to catch anyone tampering with the more secret and exotic technology on the _Cookie_.

The ship was tricked out for a sports team. Her fifty athletes had recently come off an upset victory on Tellar, where they had beaten the Tellar planetary team at a traditional sport called Kreesta. Kreesta was a kind of cross between table tennis and competitive eating, and was about as messy as anything could get.

Mack had come out of the experience with a newfound determination to keep the _Cookie_ 's more interesting technology secure, as there was irrefutable proof of tampering with the ionization diffuser.

She suspected – rightfully, so it turned out – that her inner circle remained trustworthy. They may have had their own issues, both small and large, but they weren't out to get her.

Her inner circle – other than Marty, who was her business partner and co-owner of the team – consisted of Chief Engineer Wesley Crusher, the son of the _Enterprise-E_ 's ship's doctor. Wes was eager and smart and in love with a member of the Starfleet Academy band, French horn player Lakeisha Warren. Mack called him the Boy Wonder.

Her pilot was an Orion-Betazoid hybrid named Daniya. The green-skinned, dark-eyed woman could both sense emotions and manipulate them at will. This had been rather useful when Mack was purchasing the _Cookie_. Along with Wes, Daniya also served as the First Officer.

The ship's physician was an Ikaaran named Majira. Like all of her people, Majira was an empathic healer for injuries, diseases, and syndromes that could be mimicked in her own body. For anything where she couldn't perform the mimicry trick, such as when a Jem'Hadar team member had been injured, Majira performed surgery or prescribed medications, much like any other doctor.

Rounding out the senior staff was the Daranaean Communications Officer, an artist named Crita. Like all third caste Daranaean women, Crita was somewhat meek and mild. The fact that she had been single for so long – rather scandalously after her eighteenth birthday – and that she was working for a living, made her fairly unique. She was about ready to marry, and would be the third wife of a soldier named Senjarus. But first the fluffy sentient marsupial canid wanted to finish a painted mural of the Grand Canyon.

Into this scene of perhaps too much trust and not enough discipline, Yi'imspi had managed to fairly readily infiltrate. She knew that Mack wanted to trust her. Mack wanted to trust everyone.

But Yi'imspi was untrustworthy.


	2. 2-Trouble Colored Green

Chapter 2 – Trouble Colored Green

"Good stuff," Mack MacKenzie praised her Bridge crew. "We did well on Tellar – I've got the bucks to get ahead a bit."

"Can I ask you something?" asked Daniya as she piloted.

"Don't stand on ceremony."

"Could it be in private?" the green-skinned woman asked. "Uh, no offense, Crita." It was only the three of them on the Bridge.

"It's all right," the Daranaean replied. "I don't believe we will receive any communications for a while."

"Could you work on the project with Wes?" Mack asked, referring to the need to install surveillance cameras.

"Certainly," Crita replied. She flipped a few switches on her console and took a small earpiece out of a large, triangularly-shaped, fluffy white ear. "If we finish early, is it all right if I paint? I'd like to work on the running track mural a bit."

"Sure; take your time. I'll get someone in here, or call you back in if we have a problem," Mack stated. Crita left. Mack turned to Daniya. "Well?"

"I, well, this is a little embarrassing."

"Oh?" Mack, at age fifty, was a good two decades or so older than Daniya, maybe even more. "Tell me your troubles."

"The Orion Syndicate says I owe more money than I thought I did."

"How much?"

"A lot. They must have figured out that we're starting to make some serious coin now. They want their cut."

"From who?" asked Mack. "I'm not an Orion, and you're only half, and you don't work for them anymore, anyway."

"Well, you see, Dana, the problem is that an Orion woman can never truly leave the – _alleged_ – service of the Syndicate."

"Surely, they would allow you a stipend to live on, right?"

Daniya shook her head. "They don't care."

Mack sighed. "Just how much are we talking about? Maybe I could loan you the money."

"It's almost a year's worth of my pay, Dana."

"Okay, that's bad. What'll happen if you don't pay? You just up and refuse?"

"They'll take shots at us whenever we're in their space. And they will have no qualms about grabbing anyone on the team, from anywhere, to hold as a hostage until I either give up, or I pay them, preferably both, so far as they're concerned."

"So, they could conceivably kidnap the Puppy Girl on her wedding day?"

"Yes, Dana they could potentially try to kidnap Crita, even on Daranaea."

"What about the Federation authorities?"

"They seem to look the other way. I don't know," Daniya shrugged, "but I would not be shocked if there was corruption."

"I can call my cousin Marty. Something's gotta be possible."

"It won't be. I'll have to resign. I'm sorry."

"No, no! C'mon, Daniya! We can fix this. Just, just give me a chance. Please?"

"They are ruthless. This is dangerous."

"I was in stir for nearly two decades. They can't do to me anything that I haven't had happen to me already."

"But Crita hasn't, and Wes hasn't, and I bet that all of the others haven't. Dana, I can't let anything happen to any of you. I would never be able to live with myself."

"I see," Dana said, after thinking it over for a while. "Let me talk to Marty anyway. He is the, the straightest arrow I know." She smiled a tiny bit, as that was her private name for him. "And I bet his captain's on the level, too. I know Wes knows him. Let us try to help you. Give me, I dunno, three days. Is that okay with you?"

"All right, but I reserve the right to end that time period early if they start to take potshots at us before that."

"That's fair enough," Mack replied.

=/\=

On the Engineering level, Crita and Wes worked together, installing the hidden surveillance cameras. "Are you excited about getting married?" he asked, taking a hyperspanner from her.

"Of course! Senjarus is so kind. And I am corresponding with his other two wives. We have been rather pleasantly getting acquainted."

"What are they like?"

"The Prime Wife is Thayla. She is very lovely indeed. I understand that she is a fine cook, too."

"Well, that's good. And what about the other one? What's she like?"

"Pensive. She – Salena – is responsible for educating the children, and she takes her role very seriously. She always seems to be trying to improve herself."

"How many kids are there?"

"Four young ones and each wife now also has a pouchling. They are not pregnant, though. Senjarus says he does not believe in engaging in relations if a woman has a pouchling."

"That makes sense. Can they, uh, hear things? The pouch babies, I mean."

"Huh. I imagine they can. I do not recall that time. I do not believe that most Daranaeans do. Wesley, will you marry?"

"Eventually, I guess." He got up. "We need to check our work."

"Yes, absolutely. Let us try the motion sensors first." She walked in front of where she knew they had placed cameras, as Wes watched a display. "Well?"

"Camera number five seems to be a little slow on the uptake. The others are okay, though. I'll see about taking it apart later. I'm speculating, of course, but I bet there's just some dirt on one of the contacts."

"That is a reasonable supposition. Let's cover the ionization diffuser, too. I know Dana was particularly concerned about it."

They walked over to the diffuser station. It was not meant to look like anything special – the better to throw pirates or a boarding party off the scent. There was a console with switches on display, and a joystick. There was also a swivel chair and a link to communications, and that was about it.

They installed tiny, unobtrusive cameras – no bigger than a fingernail – next to the display, above the station, by the communications link, and next to the joystick. They tested their work and, this time, the camera work was flawless.

"I think we're done," Wes commented.

"Yes, I agree. Dana is allowing me to get in some painting, so I think I will go and do that now."

"Aren't you on duty, Crita?"

"I am supposed to be, but she is speaking privately with Daniya."

"Oh, well, I hope it's nothing serious."

=/\=

At the same time, Temporal Agent Richard Malcolm Daniels and his boss, Admiral Carmen Calavicci, were flying in their time ship, the _Audrey Niffenegger. Audrey_ was cloaked, so Dana and her crew could neither see nor otherwise sense the nearly vaguely arrowhead-shaped craft.

"How do you want to approach them?" he asked. She was piloting.

"We've got three days until Yi'imspi – apparently – pulls the wrong lever on the _Cookie_ , and the timeline becomes, shall we say, grievously impaired." She made air quotes as she said the last two words. "I think you should go and just, just try to help MacKenzie catch Yi'imspi in the act. I believe the chips will fall as they may when you do."

"Me? What about you? Aren't you coming with me, Carmen?"

"I think it would be better if you were to go it alone. She's always liked you. You work together well in every single iteration."

"Still, I mean, you should help me convince her, or something."

"No," Carmen explained, "we can't have them seeing _Audrey_. I mean, truly seeing her, in her proper form. We'd have to correct that as well. You know Crusher would copy the design the moment he saw it."

"Yeah, I suppose so. We'll need to really keep her cloaked well."

"Precisely. So, here, look, we're close enough to the old Delphic Expanse that _Audrey_ can just be disguised as a shuttle or some other smaller craft."

"Okay, and I can put out a distress call, maybe, and have them take _Audrey_ into a cargo bay. Hmm," he thought for a moment, "we'll need to hide you, Car."

"How about the bedroom area? There's a holodeck, as I recall."

"Yeah, well, it's kinda also my bachelor pad."

Carmen laughed at that. "I do hope the sheets are clean, then."

"Yes, they're clean. Sheesh!" He pretended to be annoyed. "We can get the holodeck controls to just make a closet, and you can hide in there, I guess."

"Better than hiding under the bed."

=/\=

On the _Cookie_ , as Crita painted, Mack sat in command and looked at Daniya, who was still piloting. "Let me ask you this," Mack ventured, "how public do you wanna go with this?"

"I'm not sure. Contacting your cousin, I feel, that's a good idea. After that, it feels a little sketchy to me, like this information might endanger them."

"What about telling Crita, and Wes and Majira?"

"No, I can't risk it," Daniya decided. "It's not that I don't trust them; it's that I don't trust the Syndicate."

"Got it. Well, let's try Marty, okay? Do you mind if we do that now?"

"That's fine. We're near the old Delphic Expanse. I don't think we'll run into anything too troublesome here."

"Good." Mack went to Crita's station and flipped a few switches. The face of a female Bolian relayer appeared on the main view screen.

"Can I help you?" asked the Bolian.

"Yes, please, I'd like to talk to Commander Martin Madden. He's the First Officer on the _Enterprise-E._ "

"Connecting you now."

The Bolian's blue face was replaced by a view of the _Enterprise-E_ 's Bridge. Marty wasn't the only person there. It was also Captain Picard, a female Trill named Kel Perrim, and Michael Daniels. The captain smiled warmly at them. "Miss MacKenzie! To what do we owe this unexpected call?"

"I, er," Mack bit her lower lip for a second. She had been hoping to just leave a fast message for her cousin, not explain herself to his boss. "Can I talk to you and Commander Madden privately? Uh, sorry, Mike, everyone. And I'm sorry to bother you, too, Captain. If it's a bad time, I can call back later."

"No worries," Mike said.

"No trouble; things appear to be going smoothly right now," commented the captain. "So of course; let's switch this to my Ready Room. Daniels, you have the Bridge," Picard announced as Marty fiddled a bit with the Communications equipment and then quickly called for a relief Bridge crew.

In a few moments, the view was switched to the inside of Picard's Ready Room. "Well?" asked the captain.

Mack turned to her pilot. "I, well, I didn't want to come to you. Neither of us did. Nothing personal – we just wanted to fix it ourselves. And we normally would, but this is really beyond our control." Marty raised an eyebrow and looked concerned. Mack continued, "We've got trouble. Daniya, you're on."

"Uh, yes. See, the issue is that I am in hock to the Orion Syndicate. But, honestly, this is a small matter for you."

"It's all right," said the captain. "I don't mind listening for a bit. But isn't every Orion or part-Orion woman beholden to the Syndicate?"

"Yes, that's true. But their fees have really skyrocketed. Essentially, it will force me to leave the team, even if I can pay up, in full."

"But why?" asked Marty.

"They'll find something to charge me; I guarantee it. And they will take hostages if it suits them. This means not just me or Dana here, but even our Daranaean Communications Officer, or Mister Crusher."

"I see," Picard murmured. "Hostages and extortion? Now it's Federation business. I'm glad you confided in us."

"I was – we were – wondering," Mack said, "if we could get some sort of protection. Or, or some way to get them off Daniya's case. I need her. And I'm worried about the safety of my team. They didn't sign on for this. Plus, Wes is former Starfleet."

"I recall," Marty said, "that I'm not allowed to be a part-owner of the ship, due to the presence of, er, some of its tech."

"Daniya knows all about the diffuser," Mack explained.

"Here, perhaps I can petition for an ownership stake," Picard offered. "My rank may afford me that privilege, to become an exception to the rule. Then there would be another reason for us to assist you, and for the Syndicate to think twice before striking."

"That would be really helpful," Dana commented.

"Thank you, sir," Marty added.

"I appreciate your help, Captain," Daniya said, "but the Syndicate is far from nice or fair. I am concerned that they could eventually try to target your own people. I don't want to be responsible for their endangerment."

"Leave that to the Federation," Picard assured her. "Now, we'd best go, so that I can request permission."

"I'll talk to you soon," Marty vowed to Mack. He looked straight at her as he said that. She smiled back at him, eyes shining a little.

"Safe journeys; Picard out."

Once the connection had been cut, Daniya turned to Mack and said, "He's in love with you."

"The captain? I'm not so sure how I feel about that."

"No, silly; your cousin."

=/\=

On the _Enterprise-E_ , Picard turned to Marty. "I'll need to make this call in private."

"By all means, sir."

"She loves you a great deal, Commander."

"I don't know the Orion girl at all."

"Not her, Mister Madden. It is your cousin."

"It, uh, it's illegal, sir."

"More's the pity. I shall take care of this matter. Don't worry."

"Thank you again, sir." Marty left the Ready Room and returned to the Bridge.

Picard sat at his desk and commanded, "Computer, open a highly confidential channel to Admiral Nechayev."

 _Ready._

"Jean-Luc! What can I do for you?"

"This might seem to be a bit of an odd request, but I assure you that it is a very real one."

"Oh?"

"Yes; now, you might recall that traveling sports team – they're a kind of generalized barnstorming league until themselves. My First Officer is part-owner of the team."

"I have a vague recollection, yes."

"They fly in an advanced ship, which boasts an ionization diffuser and any matter of fascinating technology."

"Yes, well, the diffuser threatens the legality of the entire operation," she pointed out.

"True," he agreed. "And normally this matter would not be of concern to the flagship of the fleet."

"But their technology changes all that," she pointed out.

"Precisely. Evidently, the Orion Syndicate is claiming that their First Officer owes them a great deal of money. If they board that ship and repossess any of its technology, I presume such a seizure would pose a threat to the Federation."

"It would indeed. Tell me, Jean-Luc, how do you know of this?"

"Dana MacKenzie – the captain and owner – contacted us, seeking protection. I told her I would see if I could get your permission to become a part-owner of the vessel."

"And then naturally it would be under full-time Federation protection. Captain, that ship is likely skirting legality in other ways. There is every chance that such an intimate association could prove damaging to your reputation."

"You and I have known one another a long time, Admiral. Have you ever known such a thing to concern me before?"

She thought for a moment. "That's true, I haven't. Still, it may be less for your sake, and more for that of your crew, that you should concern yourself with such matters."

"How so?" he asked.

"Take Madden, for example," she said. "He is on a track to get his own command within the next five years or so. He is a part-owner of that team already. Plus, he has already been through one low level investigation into possible sexual harassment."

"That accusation was baseless, and no charges were ever filed by Miss Porter – who remains on my ship, I might add – so that should not matter. As for his partial ownership stake in the team, as I recall, that matter was cleared with you. This was prior to him claiming his share. Are you saying that your permission is hereby withdrawn, and he should renege on his promises to his cousin?"

"No, no, no – but the association is about as close and as strong as Starfleet is going to want to allow." She rubbed her forehead for a second.

"Then what needs to be done, and how?" he asked. "MacKenzie is a Federation citizen. So is her engineer, Wesley Crusher, the son of my Chief Medical Officer."

"Wait, that's it!" Nechayev snapped her fingers. "Have Doctor Crusher claim an ownership stake, perhaps even purchase a share! Then you will be able to offer full Federation protection to the vessel!"

"Are you certain? It all seems rather convoluted, Admiral."

"That, Captain Picard, is the very idea."


	3. 3-Deception in the Old Delphic Expanse

Chapter 3 – Deception in the old Delphic Expanse

"Are you ready?" Carmen asked. She had a British accent, and it tended to become more pronounced when she was under stress. It was more pronounced.

"Just about. Don't worry; it'll be fine. We'll talk on implanted communicators, as always." He pointed to his left ear, in which there was a permanently implanted communicator.

"Right, yes. When we're in communications, if you suddenly cannot talk, ask some sort of a question that someone on the ship can answer, and I cannot."

"Such as?"

"Oh, I don't know – where do I sleep, or where are we going? Ask them what the bloody specials are in the cafeteria, for all I care."

"This era is all replicated food, I think."

"On the flagship of the fleet? Damned primitives! But in all honesty, there still might be a chef, or at least a schedule. Or you could get around it by saying you were coming from a starbase or the like that had such amenities. That's almost the truth."

"That's an idea. Mack – she's Mack in the original history, and won't like me calling her Dana unless we get to know each other a bit – she probably won't ask too many out-there questions."

"What about her inner circle?" Carmen asked.

"Crita won't say much. Majira is a practical doctor, but I probably won't see her much at all. Wes Crusher won't care unless the cloak fails and he can see just how advanced _Audrey_ is."

"Let's make certain that doesn't happen. Now, the other one is a part-Orion and part-Betazoid woman. She'll distract you if you don't watch it."

"Moi?"

"Yes, you! Don't play coy with me, Mister. I am well aware of your propensity for trying to score with historical tail. Even Dana herself in the last few times we went through. Damn, I really don't want this temporal change to recur in a few days. I do not wish to return to the Mirror Lafa System unless it's in the proper timeline and all."

"I will stay focused," he vowed. "I want this thing fixed already, too. It's our fourteenth shot at this. I'd rather there wasn't a fifteenth."

"Let's go over what we're going to do, again."

"All right. We'll mask the ship to make it look like an independent merchant shuttle. Funny, how the technology we'll be doing that with is directly descended from their ionization diffuser technology."

"Yes; it's rather practical tech. So, to further what you're saying, we'll use the holodeck controls on the sleeping area and make me a closet to hide in. You'll emerge from behind, perhaps, a failed sphere in the Delphic Expanse."

"That'll work the best. It'll keep them from sensing _Audrey_ until we're good and ready. They'll take the ship into one of their bays. I'll get out and I assume they'll try to help me," he made air quotes, "fix it."

"Right. I'll stay in the sleeping area unless I absolutely have to leave. I'll check on the cloak remotely, using my PADD. I'll try to let you know when I need to get up. I would appreciate it if you would tell me whenever people would be coming in for alleged repairs."

"Of course. Yi'imspi – our target – she understands the fundamentals of engineering. It'll be a problem if she gets too intimately associated with _Audrey_."

"So, occupy her time, Richard. And not necessarily that way! I swear; you have a mind with but one track."

=/\=

"I don't think I understand," Doctor Beverly Crusher said. She was sitting in the captain's Ready Room with Picard and Marty; it was less than an hour later. "Buy that team? Or that ship?"

"You'll only need to own a little piece of it," Marty explained.

"And that will protect Wesley? But how?"

"You are a highly respected Starfleet Medical officer," Picard explained. "Plus, Wesley is a former Starfleet Ensign. He certainly deserves Federation protection. But if you own even a piece of that ship, then full Federation protection can be accorded to it, even if there are no Federation citizens on board, and even if it's empty and in a large bay somewhere."

"Does your cousin mind?" Beverly asked, turning a little to face Marty.

"Actually, she doesn't know yet," he admitted. "But I'm sure he'll go for it. She wants her First Officer to stay, and she wants her investment protected. Plus, I'm sure she wants Wes and the others to stay safe."

"I don't even have any money."

"That's quite all right," the captain assured her. "Admiral Nechayev has authorized the issuance of a draft. It will be the equivalent of one hour's work as performed by you."

"I take it that won't buy much."

"It'll be enough," Marty said.

=/\=

The Daranaean finished her painting for the nonce and put her brushes into a cup with cleaning solution. She then stood up and stepped back so as to admire and check her work – and stepped right onto someone's foot. She wheeled around quickly. "Oh! I am so sorry! I did not see you!"

"That's all right," replied a Calafan woman – Yi'imspi. "What is it going to be when it's done?"

"This part is to be the Big – I mean, the Grand – Canyon. Over here, it is a bit like a film and will animate when Coach MacKenzie runs by."

"I see. That's rather clever. Tell me, what else is clever here on the _Cookie?"_

"There are lots of clever people," Crita replied.

"I suppose there are. Tell me, why aren't you on the Bridge right now? Aren't you supposed to be on your shift?"

Crita was about to answer, and then commented, "I was unaware that my comings and goings were of such interest to someone such as yourself."

"Don't be so defensive; I am only making a little conversation."

"Then why does it sound like prying?" They both turned. It was a Caitian athlete, M'Belle. "Seriously," she added, "if Crita has permission to be here, then Mack knows all about it. And if she doesn't, then I'm sure Mack will figure it all out, by and by."

"Like I said, I was just making a little conversation," Yi'imspi reiterated. "We're supposed to be a team, right? So, we don't keep secrets from each other. Otherwise, the team can't function well, and the chemistry all just falls apart."

"I'm not on the team, though," Crita pointed out. "Wes and Majira and Daniya and I are on staff."

"And you're still being nosy," M'Belle said.

"You know nothing about team chemistry!" Yi'Imspi sniffed, turning on her heel and departing quickly.

"What was that all about?" M'Belle asked.

"I, I don't know. But Coach MacKenzie has a right to privacy, and to tell people if she wants to mention something, or not, to them."

"Of course," the Caitian conceded. "To change the subject, I'm glad I found you."

"Oh?"

"I have a question about your wedding, actually."

"What do you wish to know, M'Belle?"

"It may seem a little funny, but I'm just curious about it. I've never been to a Daranaean wedding."

"Oh, well, they are rather interesting affairs, I feel. For a third caste female such as myself, there are certain rituals that I perform with Senjarus, and also with his two current wives, Thayla and Salena."

"In Caitian weddings, there is a ritualistic, symbolic hunt. Anything like that in yours?"

"My purchase is stylized. It used to be that there was an auction of sorts for third caste females. Now, the purchase is made using a beautiful pouch made of fabric. The coins are especially shiny and lovely."

"Who, uh, provides the fabric pouch?"

"I do. But I do not have one yet."

"I see."

=/\=

"I guess I could do that," Beverly conceded.

Picard nodded, and Marty fiddled with the communications equipment. "Dana MacKenzie, on the _Cookie_ ," he requested.

"Connecting you now," reported a Tandaran relayer, who then dropped off the call.

The scene on the viewer was, again, the Bridge on the _Cookie_ , where Mack and Daniya were still alone. "Heya," Mack greeted them.

"Miss MacKenzie," Picard explained, "in order to best fulfill your request, I should like to present to you the newest part-owner of your ship. That is, if you'll sell a stake to her."

"Doctor?" Mack asked.

"We're hanging it all on the doctor's obvious interest in Wes Crusher's safety," Marty explained.

"I see. Doctor," Mack explained, "some of the equipment on the _Cookie_ is, let's just say, it's barely the right side of legal." She gazed at Marty for a second, who passed her a private look of _– stay quiet_. "But, uh, there's a lot of confidential stuff going on, too. I can't really say much, but I do want you to at least have an inkling of what you're getting yourself into."

"I understand," Beverly replied. "But so long as you know, and Wesley knows, and Captain Picard here knows what is going on, with the details of it all, then I'm all right with it, I feel."

"Okay," Mack said. "I'll have our team's lawyer, Morgan Yarin, write something up." There was a communications chime, and she glanced over. "I'd better go. My Communications gal is out painting so's to give us our privacy. But it looks like I need her. Thanks again for everything." It chimed again. "Gotta go! Bye now."

After the connection had been cut, the doctor looked at the two men. "Are you absolutely certain that this will work?"

"We can't guarantee anything," Picard admitted. "But we'll make the effort."

"I suppose I'll add ship owner to my resume," she quipped.

=/\=

"That's an urgent chime," Daniya commented.

"Out here? Oh, man," Mack moaned. She hit an internal switch. "Crita, I need for you to come back; it's urgent."

"Right away," Crita responded. She nodded at M'Belle and proceeded to the Bridge.

At the same time, Mack flipped an external communications switch. "This is the _Cookie_."

The response was rather staticky. "This … _Aud_ ... _Niff_ … mayday!"

"Dammit, I am not the best at comms! Do you at least see them, Daniya?" Mack asked as Crita arrived. "It's staticky and breaking up badly. It's some sort of an emergency."

"Understood." Fluffy white hands flew over the console, and then an earpiece was placed inside a large, triangular ear. "Unidentified vessel! This is the _Cookie!_ What is your emergency? What is your position?"

" _Aud_ … spatial … sphere."

There was a flash off the starboard side. "I see them," Daniya stated. "It looks like a merchant shuttle of some sort. Looks like they're venting plasma."

"Okay, steer closer. Crita, try again. Maybe the signal will improve as we get closer. And get me Wes and Majira, please."

"What are you gonna do?" Daniya asked, as Crita pulled up a split screen on the main viewer, with Wes on the left, Majira on the right, and the view outside in the middle.

"Help them, if I can. I mean, this is the _BFE_ of space, right? There is nobody else who can help them. We are, by default, elected."

"I just hope they're not Orion," Daniya muttered under her breath as she flew the ship. As they got closer, she added, more loudly, "Maybe try them again now, Crita."

"Unidentified vessel! This is the _Cookie!_ Help is on its way. Repeat: we are coming to assist you."

"This … _Audrey_ … plasma … need help! Mayday!"

On the _Audrey Niffenegger_ , Rick turned to Carmen. "Think they bought it?"

"Oh, Mister Daniels," she grinned, engaging the holodeck controls so as to create a closet in the bedroom area. She hopped inside, and then turned back to look for a second before shutting the holographic door and disappearing from sight. "The static was an inspired touch. Did they believe you? Why, I guarantee it."


	4. 4-An Unexpected Passenger

Chapter 4 – An Unexpected Passenger

A chirpy alarm went off on the _Cookie_ as Majira and Wes looked on, in communications. Mack glanced over at the Tactical console. "It's that old gravimetric sphere over there, I think."

"Dana, what is the trouble?" Majira finally asked.

"There's a merchant shuttle, caught near the ruins of an old gravimetric sphere. I'd like to help them, if we can."

"There could be spatial anomalies, still. I know there are still a few in the area, from time to time. The area never really recovered, and it's been over a century since the spheres were active," Wes explained.

"That could be the cause of their problems," Dana opined. "They're venting plasma."

"I will be ready for casualties," Majira vowed. "How large a vessel is it?"

"They probably don't have more than a half a dozen people on board," Mack estimated.

"That ship could probably fit in the bay," Wesley suggested. "If you want me to help them fix it – or at least give them a chance to – then the bay is a lot better than towing them along and attempting repairs in a pressure suit, in an anomaly field."

"Okay, so we've got the semblance of a plan for afterwards. But what about now?" Mack asked.

"I can get us just about close enough for a tractor beam," Daniya offered. "But I don't recommend getting too close. Otherwise, there could be two ships caught by an anomaly."

"Got it," Mack replied. "Get as close as you safely can."

The green-skinned woman nodded. She flipped a few switches, and the _Cookie_ started to turn.

"Tell them we're on our way, please," Mack requested."

"Unidentified vessel! Help is on its way. We will be using a tractor beam. This is the _Cookie_. Please stand by for assistance."

"This is … _Audrey_ … by."

"Was that a good-bye?" asked Mack.

"It may have been the second half of the phrase, 'standing by'," Crita speculated as the _Cookie_ moved into position.

"A little closer, a little more," Mack coaxed.

"We're reaching our safe limits," Daniya cautioned.

"Just a few hundred meters more," Mack murmured.

"Wes, can we get better shielding in the front?" the pilot asked.

"I'm on it!" he yelled. He could be seen, in the leftmost third of the view screen, tapping away furiously at a console. "Hang on, almost there. Okay," he said, after a few moments, "try it now."

Daniya turned the ship a little, so that the front starboard side was closest to the vessel that they all believed was a regular merchant shuttle. In the center of the view screen, on the side of the vessel, the name of the ship could be clearly seen. "I wonder who Audrey Niffenegger is, or more likely was," Mack muttered to herself. Then, more loudly, she added, "Deploying the tractor beam now."

The beam, which was reddish-orange in color, enveloped the _Audrey_ and tugged a little until that smaller vessel was freed. It was towed along as Daniya steered the _Cookie_ to a safer part of the old Delphic Expanse. Once the two ships were in a safe location, she said, "We should be able to bring it into the bay now."

"All right, let's do this," Mack commanded.

Crita looked over at her. "What if, despite the fact that we have just saved them, they turn out to be hostile?"

"Huh, you're right. Good thinking. Contact Xochar'inif, Grosk, Cilla, and Tag Shaw, and have them meet me at the bay, thanks."

"Right away."

"Okay, you're in charge, Daniya. If it takes me more than ten minutes after I get to the bay and they arrive for me to call you, assume the worst and call Wes. Figure out if you'll need to pass out weapons. I don't love that, but if they're hostile to the five of us, and muscle doesn't work on them, then I doubt they'll listen to reason from anyone else."

"Got it," Daniya confirmed. "Crita, find any Federation ships in the area, in case we need to call for aid. Let me know how far away they are, too."

"Of course."

"Well, here goes nothin'," Mack quipped as she departed.

Crita gulped. "Do you really think we will need weapons?"

"Let's hope not."

=/\=

At the bay, Mack met the four athletes – Cilla, a female Klingon; Xochar'inif, a Jem'Hadar; Grosk, a tall Imvari male; and Tag Shaw, a human guy who had played hockey.

"I don't know how much you were told," Mack began.

"Crita just said you needed assistance," said Cilla, "nothing more."

"All right," Mack said, "that ship in distress should be just about in the bay by now. I want you with me, just in case its occupants aren't quite so friendly."

"Of course," replied Grosk. He had a bluish face with a red blotch on it, with orangey horns around its perimeter.

"Just say the word, Coach," added Shaw.

Xo got the door opened for her. The four athletes instinctively surrounded her, as she walked up to the hatch and stood in front of it, waiting. "Audrey Niffenegger," she read off the ship's side again. "Any idea who she is or was?"

"No idea," replied Tag as the other three all shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. Okay, um, ready whenever you are."

The hatch opened as the four athletes all tensed, like coiled springs. A guy came out. He looked like he was fully human or close enough and, maybe, in his late thirties or so. He had dark brown hair, cropped close, and blue eyes. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't movie idol handsome, either. Still, there was a kind of swaggery confidence in his demeanor. He came right over to Mack as the athletes all close ranks around her. "Hi, I'm Richard Daniels."

"Oh, um, Dana MacKenzie – but please call me Mack. Hang on, just, uh, give me one second, okay?" She had on a bracelet-style communicator, and engaged it. "We're good," she said into it, and then turned it off and her attention was once more focused on her guest. "You need help with fixing your ship, Richard?"

"Uh, call me Rick. And thanks. The plasma leak seems to have stabilized in here. I wonder if the outside temperature, or even the pressure, is affecting the seals."

"I can get my Chief Engineer in, to help you and your own engineer, if you like." She tried to look a little past him and into the ship, but he was blocking her view.

"Maybe," Rick allowed. "I'm usually alone for these runs. There's no one else back there."

"No crew?" asked Tag.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners?" Mack then introduced her small entourage. "Anyway, there's our chief. Plus, some of the team – Dathan and Effenston – they help out with Engineering. Sometimes there's also a Calafan woman named Yi'imspi. I understand she's rather good."

"Uh, sure." Rick was a tad nonplussed at the news that Yi'imspi had been able to infiltrate in that way. "Team? You said there was a team. I don't understand."

"Oh! The _Cookie_ is the home of the Black Sheep. We're a barnstorming team. Have ball, stick, Kreesta table or whatever, will travel," Mack explained. "Where's your cargo?"

"I don't have any yet. I've just come from the Kreetassan home world. I swear my charts must be from the time of Jonathan Archer! But he didn't get the anomaly fields all completely correct. Everybody seems to think the old Delphic Expanse is free of anomalies, but nothing could be further from the truth."

"I hear that," Mack replied. She turned to her entourage. "It's okay. If you wanna go and work out, it's fine."

Tag came over to her and quietly asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am. Don't worry, okay?"

"Okay, Coach. You heard the lady," he said to the other two, "we're cramping her style." He turned to Mack as the others left. "Holler if you need me."

Once the door had closed, Rick commented, "They're very loyal to you."

"Yeah, I guess so. They're a good team. So, why are you really here? And don't tell me you're lost, or it's for some nonspecified trade. There is nothing at all out here. Just a few little planets, some destroyed and failed spheres, a few stars, and that's about it, Rick."

"I'm a trader," he reiterated, sticking to the story he and Carmen had come up with. There was a trill his ear, but at least Mack couldn't hear that. Rick knew it was Carmen calling to check up on him. He batted a little at his left ear, making it look like he was absently scratching the lobe. This opened the channel and allowed Carmen to listen in on the conversation.

"Now I haven't looked it up yet," Mack played her trump card, "but I've got no idea who Audrey Niffenegger is, or was." She took out her PADD. "I'm happy to look her up right now. Or you could tell me, or at least tell me something that better resembles the truth."

Rick swallowed as Carmen, in his ear, informed him, "Niffenegger wrote a book, _The Time Traveler's Wife_. We should have cloaked over the name. Damnation! You'll have to think of something right quick."

"I –" Rick began.

"Yes?" Both women asked in unison.

"You, you got me. I'm sorry for the false pretenses. But I really am harmless, cross my heart and all of that. You can come on board and check if you don't believe me. I'm just, uh, I need to fix the plasma leak, and then I can go."

From her hiding place, Carmen snapped her fingers as the perfect idea came to her in an instant. "Tell her you're an ex-convict as well. She'll relate to that." There were a few stray clicks as she looked something up on her PADD.

"Oh?" asked Mack. "What's your real story, Rick."

"I, um," his voice trailed off and he bit his lower lip, looking contrite as he was, rather, trying very hard to stall as Carmen did research on the fly. "I'm not proud of this."

"Berren Five!" Carmen got excited when she found the answer. "It's active now. Say you were caught for piracy against the Klingons."

"I'm waiting for your explanation," Mack prompted.

"I only just got out of Berren Five."

"Ah, medium security. I was there recently, for a transfer from max. I didn't see you."

"Well," Rick explained, "I was in for piracy against the Klingons."

"So, you were on some other side of the yard, I bet. And the transfer was quick, anyway," Mack added, after thinking it over a little bit. "So, it's no wonder we missed each other. Klingons, eh? You're lucky you escaped with your life and your ship."

"It was a lucky break, yeah, just like running into you out here."

"Are you still a pirate? I don't see any parrots, Richard."

"Oh, pull-eeze," Carmen whined a little in Rick's ear.

He laughed a bit. "Sorry, I left my parrot in my other suit. We could, um…"

"I already got a fellow," she said. "If that's what you mean. Uh, was it?"

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, you said you had a Calafan engineer?"

"She's just one of three athletes with some mechanical talent."

"That'll work," he said. "And, uh, a pity about the other thing."

"Yeah, I guess so. Look, I got what to do. Therefore, let me get her in here and maybe someone else in case you need a spare pair of hands, and they'll help you get old _Audrey_ here fixed up in a jiffy. Stay for dinner? I'm making pizza tonight."

"Replicated?"

"Nope, although some of it is pre-frozen."

"That's all right," he said. "Oh, and Miss MacKenzie?"

"Call me Mack."

"Uh, Mack? Thank you for allowing this. Not everybody likes dealing with ex-cons."

"Don't I know it?" She engaged her wrist communicator again. "Yi'imspi? Dathan? Please report to the bay and help our guest fix his ship, thanks." When the other two arrived, she glanced at the ship again. "I hope we can help you."

"I'm sure you can. See ya."

"See ya."


	5. 5-Who's Audrey?

Chapter 5 – Who's Audrey?

With the situation seemingly well in hand, Mack returned to the Bridge. When she saw Daniya, the green-skinned woman asked, "So, is he cute?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"C'mon, I mean, what I could hear through the static sounded nice."

"You're insatiable!" Mack pretended to complain.

"I haven't approached anyone on the team or the staff," Daniya pointed out. "You're the one with the boyfriend."

"Damn, you're right, and I was flirting with that guy, and everything."

"Dana!" Crita exclaimed. "Whatever will Major Hoberman say?"

"Well, he never has to find out," Daniya pointed out.

"No, you're, no," Mack fumbled with her words, "I should come clean with him. Long distance relationships and all that. Can you get him for me? I'll grab it in the Ready Room. Daniya, you're in charge again."

"Then we're all getting raises," the Orion replied, "although I still say not to tell him."

As Mack hustled herself to the Ready Room and its little adjoining bathroom, Crita flipped a few switches and said, "This is the _Cookie_ calling; please connect me to Major Emmett K. Hoberman, Commanding Officer of the MACO unit on Andoria."

"Connecting you now," replied a Vulcan relayer.

A stock image of icy Andoria was shown on screen until Mack emerged and flipped a switch and accepted the call in her Ready Room.

"Dana!" Kent Hoberman exclaimed. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"It's been a while. You're looking good."

"Thank you; so are you." He was a lot younger than she was; an attractive mid-thirties guy in uniform. "I'm sorry for not maintaining better contact."

"It's all right; everybody gets busy. I, er, Kent, I did want to confess something to you."

"Oh?"

"We helped get a guy out of a jam, a, a trader." The fib was out of Dana's mouth before she could stop it.

"And?"

"And I ended up flirting with him, sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Dana."

"It's just; it wasn't too terribly respectful to you. I shouldn't have done it. I, I'm a more loyal person that that. I wasn't being a very good girlfriend to you, not at all."

"It is, uh, Dana, I'm glad you called. I, er, I have something to let you know about, too."

"You been flirting, too, Kent?"

"Uh, no, Sandy came back."

"Your ex-wife."

"Yes, and she brought the girls, and everything. Katie's learning her letters and Nichole is just about walking now."

"That's, um, that's great."

"We're gonna be a family again. Sandy and me, uh, we know it's gonna be a bumpy road, but we're gonna reconcile."

"When did this happen?"

"Right around two weeks ago, the twenty-seventh of January. I, uh …"

"Wait, two weeks ago?" Dana had been contrite, then excited, then stunned. But that was all dropped in favor of a growing anger. "When the _hell_ were you gonna tell me?"

"I, uh, I wanted the time to be right."

"No, you didn't, Kent! You wanted to see what was gonna happen, right? Am I right? You were just gonna ghost me, just, just cease all contact until I gave up, and, and block me if I didn't!"

"It's not like that!"

"Then what is it really like, Kent, huh? Because from my bird's-eye view vantage point, it looks a helluva lot like you wanted to have your cake and eat it, too!" She folded her arms and glared at him, silently daring him to tell her she was wrong.

"I, man, I'm a jerk. And I'm a thousand other worse names, too, and if you wanna call me those, then have at it. I deserve it. I deserve it all. I am," he pleaded with her, "I am so incredibly sorry, Dana. But my kids, I mean, seriously, if there was a way to un-break our home, I was gonna take it. I am so, so sorry."

Mack blinked a few times, still livid, but resolved to the fact that matters were clearly beyond her control. "I wish your daughters well. Computer, end transmission."

"Dana!"

When the screen cut to black, she added, "Block Major Emmett Kent Hoberman and anyone at the MACO base on Andoria on all forms of personal communication, effective immediately."

 _Accomplished_

Within a few seconds, there was a communications chime. "Yes?"

It was Crita. "Major Hoberman just contacted the ship, Dana. He is very upset, and says you are now blocking him. What shall I tell him?"

"He got around the block?"

"No, he used the fan line. Dana, I will respect your wishes in this, as in all, manners, but we should not be blocking anyone on the fan line. We could end up inadvertently blocking true fans of the _Black Sheep_ team."

"Right, yeah, you're right. Tell him I, uh, tell him I just, I can't be in contact with him right now, please. Is that all right?"

"Of course, it is," replied the Daranaean.

"Thanks." Dana cut the connection. She sat in the Ready Room for a few minutes, her head in her hands. "I need a break." There was another chime. "What the hell is it now?" she snapped to no one.

It was Crita again. "I've done as you requested. Are you well? Shall I ask Majira to look in on you?"

"No, uh, no thanks, Puppy Girl." Dana sighed. "I just need a few minutes."

"Very well; let me know if you need anything. We all care about you, Dana."

"Thank you." Mack smiled a little. "This is why I'm making pizza tonight."

"Will our guest be joining us?"

"Yeah, probably. Just give me a few minutes, Crita."

"By all means; Crita out."

Dana sighed. "Richard Daniels, if you hadn't come along in the old, broken-down _Audrey Niffenegger_ , I never would've known what Kent was up to. So, I guess I owe you one. And that reminds me – computer?"

 _Working_

"Look up the name _Audrey Niffenegger_." After a few minutes, the machine replied.

 _Audrey Niffenegger was an author and artist in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Her debut novel, a bestseller, was The Time Traveler's Wife."_

"Holy crap! I, uh, I wonder if that means what I think it does." She hit a switch. "Crita?"

"Yes?"

"Please connect me to my cousin, Marty – er, Martin – Madden on the _Enterprise-E_. Send it out as a high priority, emergency signal."

"Right away. What's wrong?"

"I might have an inkling as to who our guest really is."

"Is he dangerous?"

"I, uh, I'm not sure. Let me start with the call, and we'll figure it out, okay?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Connecting you now."

Marty's face appeared on the small view screen in the Ready Room. He was still on the Bridge. "Mystic, what's wrong?"

"I, uh, God, I'm such a dolt. Here, I'm asking you to help defend us, yet I just go ahead and invite someone in."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"I, er, there was a distress call, and we answered it. It was a guy in a little ship, and it was venting plasma. We took it into the bay."

"And? Mystic, I know you didn't call me and say it was an emergency, while I'm on duty, just to tell me that." Picard was sitting nearby and he was paying attention to the exchange.

"Cuz, his ship is named the _Audrey Niffenegger_."

"Should I know who that is?"

"She wrote _The Time Traveler's Wife_."

Picard chimed in, "Ms. MacKenzie, do you believe that the pilot is a time traveler?"

"I'm not sure. But I'm suspecting that."

"Is there any other proof?" Marty asked.

"Nothing yet. Look, I realize I may be overreacting, but I'm concerned."

"You're in the old Delphic Expanse, right?" asked Marty.

"Yeah. I can have Daniya send you the coordinates, if you'd like."

"Yes, please send them," Picard instructed. "Mister Madden," he turned to Marty. "You have the Bridge for the nonce. Now if you'll both excuse me a moment, I have some important business to attend to."

"Of course; sorry to have troubled you," she said.

"I should go, too," Marty said. "We'll talk tonight, if not sooner, okay?"

"Got it; MacKenzie out." Dana left her Ready Room and returned to the Bridge.

Crita looked at her with concern. "Well?"

"The jury's still out," Mack replied honestly. "Daniya, please transmit our coordinates to the _Enterprise-E_. But for now, we'll just sit tight."

=/\=

Picard sat down in his own Ready Room. "Computer, get my Admiral Nechayev."

The Admiral's face came up on the room's small desktop screen. "Jean-Luc, how can I help you?"

"It seems there is a possible time traveler in the old Delphic Expanse."

"How very interesting. You know this how, exactly?"

"Commander Madden's cousin informed us. As you know, the Commander has been found to be sporting a radiation band of less than 21 centimeters."

"And this cousin does as well."

"That's precisely what I was thinking. Admiral, I think the _Enterprise-E_ should move to intercept. We'd have two very good reasons to be there – the time traveler and the opportunity to speak with Dana MacKenzie in person."

"Right, and possibly a third – there are Augment rumors coming out of there, you know."

"I see. We'll head over there now, at maximum warp. Picard out." As the screen darkened, he stared at his fish tank for a few seconds. "There is something going on. I can feel it."

=/\=

Mack looked at Daniya and Crita. "This is not for public consumption."

"Oh?" The Orion-Betazoid eyebrow rose a bit.

"Actually, Crita, could you get Wes and Majira up here?"

"Of course." She set about to do so.

Once everyone had arrived, Mack looked at them all. "I think I know who Daniels is."

"Oh?" asked Wes. "Isn't he just some guy?"

"He seems to be some time traveling guy."

"What?" Wes asked as Majira and Daniya also looked on in surprise and Crita looked like she might be sick.

"How weird," Daniya said.

"Are we in danger?" asked Crita nervously.

"I don't honestly know. I contacted the _Enterprise-E_."

"So, you _are_ concerned," Wes deduced.

"Yeah." Mack thought for a moment. "I'm going to need to talk to him. Maybe he's okay and maybe he's not. But I still need to do it. I'll need to take the same muscle people with me as before. Can you please contact them, Crita?"

"Of course." Crita started the process of contacting Tag Shaw, Xochar'inif, Grosk, and Cilla, and then telling them to come to the Bridge immediately.

"Okay, we've kinda, sorta got a plan."

"You could wait for Picard, you know," Wes said.

"I know. But right now, the guy's done nothing that we know about. I'm not saying to trust him just yet but I think we can avoid the worst of the screaming and accusing, at least for now, know what I mean?"

"I don't believe I've ever seen Picard scream."

"Probably not," Mack allowed as the four larger athletes arrived.

"What's up, Coach?" asked Tag.

"We are going to talk to that guy," Mack said. "I don't know his deal. He might be a hazard, or maybe he's not. I have no idea. But you'll back me up, right?"

"Of course," Tag said as the other three nodded.

=/\=

In the bay, Yi'Imspi and Dathan looked up as the others arrived. Rick came out from under the ship. "Hi," he said as he looked over Mack and her entourage. "Everything okay?"

"No, actually, it's not," Mack said. She looked him squarely in the eye. "You lied to me."

"Huh?"

"Actually, I take that back. You have two choices as to what really happened. Because I know who Audrey was, and that means that ship can move through time just as easily as mine can move through space. Right?"

"Er …."

"Don't answer just yet. That was rhetorical. So, here's how I see it. Either you're a real ex-con and you stole that ship, or you aren't an ex-con, and you lied to me. So, tell me which one it is, Rick, if that is your real name."

"It is most assuredly my real name. And I want to come clean to you. But I won't do so in front of everyone," he said, glancing at Yi'imspi for a second.

"I won't meet with you alone," she said. "I get a bodyguard and that's that. You don't get to argue that one."

"I understand. Him, perhaps?" Rick indicated Tag.

"Don't think I won't protect her," Tag said. He leaned in closer and looked even bigger than he really was.

"I'm sure you will," Rick said. "And the others? Please?"

"You heard him," Mack said. "Please start scanning around for games, okay? Work with Crita. We could use another gig. Thanks." Once they had left, she turned to the two men. "Let's sit down."

There were a few pallets in the bay, not really any seats. They sat down and Rick said, "I apologize for the deception. I really do."

"So, what's really going on?" Mack asked.

"I _am_ from the future," Rick admitted. "And I know it probably sounds crazy."

"What were you doing in the old Delphic Expanse?" Mack asked.

"I, er," Rick looked at Tag. "Can I tell just her? Please?"

"Coach, what do you want to do?"

"Stand right outside the door, okay? And give us five minutes. _Five,_ yes?"

"Five is fine," Rick said.

"After five minutes come in. Thanks, Tag." Once he was gone, she turned back to Rick. "Well, what _were_ you doing in the old Delphic Expanse?"

"Looking for you."


	6. 6-Truth and Deception

Chapter 6 – Truth and Deception

"What?"

"You heard me," Rick said.

"I suppose I did. But why? What the hell do I – we – any of us – have to do with the future?"

"A lot more than you think."

"Tell me everything."

Five minutes must have been up, as Tag rejoined them. "So, everything okay, Coach?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Can you help the others look for another gig? I kinda need the cash. We're okay here. Really, we are. Thanks." He left and she turned to Rick. "I take it I can't share this information. Is that right?"

"You can share it with some people. Commander Madden, for example – you can share it with him. Hell, you _should."_

"Damn, that reminds me, I asked the _Enterprise-E_ to come over as I wasn't sure of your intentions."

"Are you sure now?"

"Not particularly." Mack paused. "But I am enough to be okay with being alone with you. But I still won't call them off."

"It's just as well. You can tell Madden in person then."

"Have we done enough dancing around the topic? Can you tell me what the hell is going on now?"

"Yes, of course, Mack. But some of what I have is considered highest level of confidentiality in your time period. This means I can't reveal it to you, either."

"You're bound by _our_ confidentiality rules? That seems nuts."

"I'm not, but Madden is. And if I tell you certain things, fingers will end up being pointed at him. So, I'm afraid in one area, I have to be pretty cryptic. The reason I am here has to do with something he is investigating. You can tell him that much or I suppose I will in this iteration."

"Back up, what iteration?"

"This is the fourteenth time I'm doing this."

"Oh, boy. Do you always take so many tries to get these things done?"

"I don't. But this one was tricky, and it still is. See, I'm here to prevent one of the people on this ship from doing something which will rip a hole in history."

"That sounds kinda serious. So, who is it?"

"I can't tell you everything, Mack. I wish I could. But there are some things that I have to keep close to the vest because of how history is supposed to unfold. This person has to make the attempt and be caught. That's what we need – not for them to be prevented from the very beginning. That's why I'm here now, rather than during tryouts."

"So, it's an athlete."

"Maybe," Rick said, smiling. The creases under his eyes were nowhere near as defined as Mack's but they did crinkle a little.

"Can you at least tell me when? A ballpark, heh, figure?"

"The _Enterprise-E_ will be here in a couple of days. And the attempt will be made while they're in the vicinity."

"What do you need for me to do?"

=/\=

Deep within the bowels of the ship, as far away from the others as possible, Yi'imspi meditated. This was not for her personal enjoyment, prayer, release, or edification. Instead, it was a means for her to make contact.

Her target wasn't Calafan. He was human, kind of. But he wasn't even from the right universe. He was from the Mirror. There was no way to perform a direct meditation to meditation connection as he just didn't have the right brain chemistry. But he had an amplifier so he could do just fine. This amplifier was an old Calafan coin, made of pure callidium, a particular metal which was also a part of Yi'imspi's own biological makeup. He clutched it in one dirty, pawlike hand as he slept; it was the best means of making contact.

He was the deposed Terran Emperor in exile, the notorious Charles VI. He had lost his crown and his throne and his castle – such as it was – a good ten years previously. He made contact once it was clear it was her.

 _"Well?" he asked._

 _"It's taking some time to get into position. But I assure you I will, and I will be able to get my hands on the advanced tech this ship has to offer."_

 _"How much will we be able to sell it for? Or is it better for a tactical advantage?"_

 _"One, I'm not sure. And two, quite possibly, yes."_

 _"Aha! So, when my ancestors got the Defiant and then built the Charon, they had major tactical advantages – superior speed and fire power, of course. How will this help with either?"_

 _"Stop thinking quite so literally and one-sidedly," she complained. "Think of other potential advantages."_ _"You've lost me."_

 _Even in meditation, Yi'imspi rolled her eyes. Charles VI was nowhere near as bright as much of his ancestry had been. Then again, many of them weren't really blood relatives at all. He was more of an unknown than anything else. He could have had the Empress Hoshi Sato and the Emperor Phillipa Georgiou's DNA – but he probably didn't._

 _Instead, it was far more likely that he or an ancestor had been grabbed from a pool of willing applicants, the poorest of the poor with more children than provisions for them. The poorest Terran families, when the Terran Empire was still going, would eagerly sell their children. Often this was into slavery, but sometimes a slave would be elevated. Often these slaves had to pass numerous tests of intelligence, strength, cunning, and bravery._

 _Whoever was elevated was welcomed into the extended royal family, and a backstory was cleverly created for him or her. He – or she – was some cousin's long-lost child, or the product of a never-before revealed night of passion. It was always something like that._

 _And then his or her biological family was wiped out completely, to a person – even infants. There would be no one to contradict the official story. There would be no old life to remember, and no curiosity or nostalgia to try to find it. All the chosen one would know was that they were now a Charles Tucker or a Hoshi Sato or a Phillipa Georgiou, in an unbrokenish line back to the start._

 _But the testing had gone by the boards. Charles VI wasn't as carefully vetted as any of his predecessors had been._

 _Yi'Imspi regained her composure. "Here are a few ideas. How about better replicators?"_

 _"Boring."_

 _"Better medical care?"_

 _"Seriously?"_

 _"Better scanning and tracking."_

 _"Dull."_

 _"Better mapping."_

 _"I'm not here to map."_

 _"Then how about better defenses? Live to fight another day, and another and another – quite literally."_

 _"That might be useful. Maybe," he allowed. "When will I get the goods?"_

 _"In a few days. The captain has taken on a passenger who may or may not be able to travel in time. So, give it a few days for that to shake out."_

 _"Why aren't you going for that time traveler's ship?"_

 _"Because the truth is, unless you feel like taking a hostage who could potentially just escape in time, neither of us would know how to work anything he might have. Whereas on the Cookie, we have a fighting chance of figuring everything out and being able to really make use of it. Stealing something you don't know how to use, and you've got no one to ask or beat it out of? That's just as bad as never stealing it at all."_

 _"Hmm, you may be right. In any event, I will drop off and leave you to your planning and the execution," he paused for a moment, and Yi'imspi could almost hear him smile, "of said plan."_

 _"Ta ta."_

She broke herself out of her meditative trance. "Of course, I'll be trying for that time traveler's stuff. You just don't need to know about that, you cretin."


	7. 7-The Plan

Chapter 7 – The Plan

That evening, Mack made dinner. Rather, she made one version of it and then Majira and Daniya took care of replicating it perfectly so that everyone could eat at a reasonable hour. It was tacos.

Rick helped, passing around plates and making sure everyone got enough to eat. He engaged several of the team members in conversation, including Yi'imspi, who evaded his questions and waved him off, telling him she really just wanted to eat her supper in peace.

Mack shrugged. Maybe Rick was hitting on the Calafan, who was certainly a lovely enough woman. It wouldn't have been the first time that had happened, and it most likely would not be the last. After they had been eating for a while, she announced, "We're going to stay in this area a little while longer. The idea is to get Rick here's ship fixed as perfectly as possible. Plus, I've asked the _Enterprise-E_ to rendezvous with us and I'd really like to see family. I take it no one objects."

"Of course not," Daniya said. "After all, you're the one who pays us."

"I like to think you can talk to me. You can, seriously, any of you can. If anyone is having any sort of, I don't know, issues, then bend my ear, okay? Feeling low? Want time off? Think I could do something better? Then tell me. And if you're curious about the ship, then ask me. I reserve the right to not tell you absolutely everything, but you can ask. Don't just touch or take, understand?" she shot a glance at Rick, who was noncommittal.

Supper wound down after that, with Yi'imspi and some others getting up quickly in order to dispose of uneaten food and used plates and flatware. Mack stared for a second and then realized the Calafan wasn't normally a part of the cleanup crew, informal as they were. So why was she helping all of a sudden?

Mack didn't have the time to really think about that as Rick jogged her elbow. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure thing." She bussed her dishes and they got up and left together.

They went to the top level of the _Cookie_ and entered the Bridge's Ready Room. Mack shut the door. "Well?"

"You're not too terribly subtle, you know."

"Really? I like to think that I am," she said. "After all, the statement was a sincere one. If someone needs to talk to me about anything, then I want them to feel that they can."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, well I figured it made sense in context. Oh, I don't know," she said, sitting down abruptly. "I've never been cut out for cloak and dagger nonsense."

"That's okay. I'm still inept at it sometimes, myself." Rick stood and thought for a moment. "You know, because we – I – need to catch this person in the act, keeping them away from the goods isn't doing us any favors."

"You're right. So, we'll need to lay out some bait."

"The ionization diffuser," he suggested. "That will be irresistible."

Mack stared at Rick for a second. "You're creeping me out. How do you know about that?"

"I'm from the future, remember?"

"So, you know everything?"

"Not enough."

=/\=

Yi'imspi made contact again. But this time, it was far more conventionally. "Admiral Harriet Caul," she said as she engaged communications. "Highest priority."

There wasn't even a relayer. She was connected by her voice command alone. Caul was in her office. "What's going on?" she asked, by way of greeting.

The Calafan said, "We had an interesting development today. A time traveler came on board."

"I beg your pardon?"

"A fellow who travels in time – he had engine trouble, or so he claimed. But I looked over his ship myself and I didn't find anything like that."

"Did you find any specifics on his technology?"

"I was being watched, so no. But he's cozied up to MacKenzie and they are talking right now."

"Do you think he's there because of the ionization diffuser?"

"I guarantee it."

"Get whatever information you can. And if you have to physically go in and take the damned thing, then do that. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Caul out."

=/\=

Marty strode down a corridor on the _Enterprise-E_. His mind was on a lot of things – so many that he had little knowledge of his surroundings and almost crashed into an Ensign. "Oh, sorry," he muttered.

"Crashes can be fun," she said, and batted her brown eyelashes at him.

"I don't have the time, Tamsin."

"Oh, and when will you?"

"I will never have time for such things with you."

"Oh, but you will," she said. "Your career – you think it's secure? Think again. If I tell the right people about you and your cousin, then it'll all unravel."

"She's your cousin, too. And why don't you make that threat in person?"

"What?"

"We're going to rendezvous with her ship in a couple of days. You can try to tell her then."

"Try?"

"She's an ex-con, Tamsin. She isn't going to be intimidated by you or anyone else."

"That's okay; I'm not looking to intimidate her," she snarled. A crewman walked past and she waited till he was gone before adding, "Only you."

=/\=

"Okay, so bait," Mack said. "What did you have in mind?"

"Hmm, I think it's of interest to the operative because it's a secret. You hide it and you don't talk about it. What if you did?"

"Then they'd just steal it. Or someone else would."

"Not necessarily."

"Oh? What's your plan, Rick?"

"Well, it's not too much of a plan yet. But here's what I was thinking. We'll involve your inside people, of course. Basically, the idea is, tell a select few athletes that you're going to be giving them extra training. Something big, secret, that sort of thing."

"Huh? And who should I involve in this? You haven't told me who it is yet."

"Send me a list of your athletes, and mark for me who you trust, and who you don't. I'll pick the group."

"If you pick three people and I only trust two of them, then I'll know your secret."

He smiled a little at that. "I'll try to mix it up. But if it's someone you trust, then you won't know at all."

"Fair enough, I guess. How many people will be involved in this little ruse?"

"Half a dozen at most. The others are for show, for the most part. Then tell them you'll be working with them individually."

"And then we show this person and the jig is up and seriously, Rick, can't you just come out and tell me now?"

"I don't want you treating her – I mean, this person – damn," he sighed. "I still don't want you to treat this person any differently, okay? Keep in mind I may have just blown it. But also, please keep in mind that I have been through this scenario a few times already, and telling you earlier has not worked."

"Okay, fine. Then what?"

"Bring her to the diffuser and actually explain what it is. Then take her to Engineering."

"Why there?"

"Because that's where the big screw-up happens."

"Ah, okay. You know, if we succeed in stopping her, she'll still learn what's up with this ship, or at least a part of it. She might make another attempt." Mack paused for a second in thought. "Unless you mean to kill her."

"Not unless that is absolutely necessary, and I'm not so sure that it is."

"Why?"

"Because, Miss Ex-con, she would be taking an all-expenses paid vacation in Canamar or Rura Penthe or Gemara."

"She'd get medium security unless she's violent, and that means Canamar. But it's not a nice place. You may not be pulling the trigger but that could still kill her. It's not exactly all tea and scones there."

"Let's just see what happens."

"Uh, okay."


	8. 8-The Answer

Chapter 8 – The Answer

There was little to do but wait for the rendezvous. Mack, not knowing what Rick was really planning, dutifully sent her list to him. He smiled to himself. Yi'imspi was on the list. So, he could maintain what may or may not have been a good idea – that is, not telling Mack the absolute, God's honest truth about who the perpetrator was, until the last possible moment.

Her list was a short one. There was Yi'imspi, of course. The other people on the list were the Imvari, Grosk; Tag Shaw; the Jem'Hadar Xochar'inif; a female Witannen named Adeel; M'Belle the Caitian; and a female Klingon named Cilla – six in all. Once he'd perused the list, he sent her a short note. It just said: _she's on your list._

He turned over the idea in his head. And when he was alone and certain no one could see or hear him, he contacted Carmen. "I think it's a rather reckless plan," she scolded. "However, since nothing else has worked, I imagine it's all right to give it the old college try, as it were. But if it all goes pear-shaped, we could have even more unraveling to do."

"Probably. I'll let you know how it goes."

"If I see that I'm suddenly in the Mirror again or some such, I'll know before you will."

"I suppose so. Gotta go." He tapped his left ear to close the connection.

"You talk to yourself?" It was M'Belle, the Caitian.

"Only a little. But didn't curiosity kill the cat?"

"Good thing I'm not a cat, then."

" _Touché._ Can I ask you a seriousish question?"

"I'll give you a seriousish answer."

"Fair enough. Do you like working here?"

"I do, very much. Mack has always been good about making us all feel comfortable and competent. There have been any number of sports that I really can't do, but she still makes me feel that I'm making an important contribution. Why do you ask? Are you thinking of joining our team, or something?"

"I'm just curious. I suppose you could say I'm a bit professionally curious. Do you think anyone is, I don't know, disgruntled at all?"

"Not that I can see. But they don't all confide in me or anything. Majira would know better than I."

"Got it. And thanks."

=/\=

Mack sent out three notes. The first one was to everyone on the _Cookie_ , even Rick.

 _For anyone who doesn't know for some reason, and even for those of you who do, we are going to be rendezvousing with the Enterprise-E tomorrow. They are the flagship of the Federation fleet so the protocols are going to be off the charts. We're all adults here. I don't think I have to remind anyone to clean up and dress up and generally be on your best behavior._

 _For me, it's family visiting. I will try to be available, but you all know how that is._

 _Thank you,_

 _Coach Mack_

Then she just wrote to her inner circle: Wes, Majira, Daniya, and Crita.

 _The Enterprise-E's arrival of course has to do with Rick Daniels, or at least it did. But he's told me a few things. There's a lot I can't say as it's in confidence. But I do want all of you to know that he, a time traveler, isn't here by some accident or freakish coincidence. Instead, he's here deliberately. There is something very specific that he has to fix._

 _I am bcc'ing you all on a note I'm sending to some very specific people. Rick has made it clear they are all trustworthy except for one of the women. He can't tell me who it is yet. It's not him being coy; it's that he has to catch her in the act of doing something to alter time, but he can't let her complete the attempt. By not giving me specifics, the idea is to keep me from even unconsciously preventing her attempt. I've got to say I agree with his reasoning, weird as it may seem._

 _I need for all of you to be on the alert. I'm not 100% certain of how a time change looks, or even if any of us would feel it or know about it in any way. What I do want to say, though, is that our time period, our iteration, the one right now? We all have reasons to preserve it. There's Crita's wedding – and thanks everyone for getting a Daranaean game as that's perfect. There's Wes and his girl, Lakeisha, who I understand might be able to make it and finally watch us play. Daniya is nearly completely free of her debts._

 _And Majira hasn't told any of you yet, but she's going to be presenting a paper soon on some of the work she's been doing with Grosk. She believes she can possibly make it so a differently-gendered species such as the Imvari could successfully have offspring with more binary gender types of species. That would be an exceptional breakthrough. If her research is independently confirmed and accepted, then she will receive not only several patents, but also a bit of a part-time gig where she will be a remote professor and distinguished lecturer for Starfleet Academy's Medical School._

 _I have so many reasons to be proud of all of you, my dear, dear friends. Together, we will fix time with Rick, and then all of our dreams will come true._

 _Thank you for all that you do._

 _Dana_

After she had sent that note, she muttered to herself, "Except for my own dream. I can't be with Marty. It's best not to think about it."

She then sent one more note; bcc'd to her inner circle and to Rick.

 _To: Adeel, Cilla, Grosk, M'Belle, Tag Shaw, Xochar'inif, and Yi'imspi_

 _As you've heard me say before, there are some really interesting things on this ship. And I've been spending a lot of time telling people not to touch them or bother me or Wes, Majira, Crita, or Daniya about them. However, the truth is, I need to let more people in on these marvels. We need coverage at all times, so it makes perfect sense to expand the group of people who know. Plus, I trust all of you and I want you to know that that means I quite literally put my money where my mouth is. If you want to get added responsibilities and to know more, then naturally that will come with higher pay and more benefits. If you don't, then I understand. Please confirm yea or nay in response to this message before tomorrow morning._

 _Thank you._

 _Mack_

The responses were all nearly instantaneous, and they were all in the affirmative.

=/\=

Once she had responded, Yi'imspi sent a note to her patron in Section 31.

 _Admiral Caul,_

 _It seems I will be getting a closer look a lot sooner. I will keep you posted._

 _Agent Radiant_

Then she made meditative contact with Charles VI.

 _"_ _I can get in and see a lot more of the goods a lot sooner than expected."_

 _"_ _Theft?"_

 _"_ _Even better; the captain is actually inviting me to learn more about the interesting tech on board."_

 _"_ _How very interesting," he said. "Did you have to bribe her? Sleep with her?"_

 _"_ _Neither; she offered it to me freely."_

 _"_ _I smell a trap," he said._

 _"_ _You always smell a trap. But never mind that. Just concentrate on how you'll get the superior tech you'll need to get back in power."_

 _"_ _And the time traveler's technology?"_

 _"_ _I haven't gotten such an invitation from him. But if I ever do, you'll be the first to know."_

=/\=

Mack called Marty the moment she was free and explained everything to him. "Are you sure this guy is for real?" he asked.

"I believe he is. Certainly, his story makes sense even if it's not fully confirmed."

"You might never be able to confirm something like that," he allowed.

"Understood."

"Mystic, I can't wait to see you."

"I feel the same. But sheesh, Marty, is this good for us or is it just going to torture us?"

"I'd rather see you than not, but I'll admit it hurts me, too." He paused for a moment. "Dr. Crusher once told me to fight the cousin marriage law."

"I imagine you'd lose your career if you lost."

"Win or lose, I could lose it either way, actually. But I'd still do it if you could support me."

She smiled wryly. "I support you in everything. You know that. But this job is your dream and I don't want you losing it."

"Maybe I could have a different dream."

"Oh?"

"One of you and me, and a family and all that that entails."

"I'm close to past that, you know."

"Modern medicine," he said. "It can still happen."

"Yeah, I know. I just, you know, I'd rather not have test tubes. I'd rather do it the old-fashioned way."

"Now this really _will_ be torture, Mystic."

"Sorry, I'm not thinking clearly. My mind is kind of on this sting, for lack of a better name."

"That's okay. Do think about it, all right? About how my dream can change. And how it can include you."

"You'd still need to work. I know you, Marty. You're a hard worker and it would kill you to be idle."

"You got a Tactical opening?"

"Communications, I'm afraid. But let me think about it. Once this time… thing is resolved, then I, I think you're right. It's time for the dreams to get rearranged."

"So is that a yes, that you'll marry me once we're able to, Mystic? If we ever can, that is?"

"Hell yeah, Marty. The answer is yes. The answer has _always_ been yes."


	9. 9-Dear and Not So Dear Prudence

The _Enterprise-E_ arrived on schedule and the _Cookie_ docked with it per Federation protocols. Mack was pleased to see that the team was all decked out in clean Black Sheep uniforms. Everyone was just so, and she suspected she could bounce a Calafan Lo coin off Tag's abs.

She shepherded her entire team off the _Cookie_ and locked off return access, just in case.

She had dressed for the occasion, too, wearing a blazer and dress pants with kitten heels. The captain greeted her personally, as did Marty, but he kept it to a handshake in front of the others. Mack's inner circle was with her. Wesley was looking about as spiffy as she'd ever seen him look. He hugged his mother tightly. Crita, Daniya, and Majira all looked professional. Mack made the introductions and Crita seemed a little embarrassed at the close male attention from those not of her family or even of her species. The tips of her ears reddened a bit.

And with them was one other person, the linchpin of the operation, Richard Daniels.

"Let's go to conference room B," Picard suggested.

"Lead the way," Mack said. She and Marty stayed in step together, the same kind of in sync behavior they had been doing ever since they had been kids. "How are things going?" she asked as they walked.

"I've been having interesting dreams lately."

"Oh?"

"Dreams of the future." He bit his lower lip a little as they strode. She nodded.

"I have similar dreams."

The conference room was well-appointed. Before closing the door, Picard said, "This is a highly confidential meeting. Anyone who leaks, well, anything from it will suffer some rather severe consequences. I trust I make myself clear?"

"Captain," Mack said, "My people know all about it."

"I trust everybody in this room," Rick said. "May I?"

"By all means," said the captain as he took coffee and then sat down next to Dr. Crusher.

"Thank you. I hate doing and redoing this, over and over again. I'm sure it's not great for the timeline or at least it's not so great for my own personal psyche, to see everything shift and fail repeatedly. So this time, I want it to be right."

"We're on the same page, then," Marty said.

"Good. Dana here gave me a list of people who would be shown certain extras on the _Cookie._ This is all a sham. The idea is to catch a certain operative in the act of radically shifting time. Fortunately, Dana's list includes the operative. She may suspect certain people. I haven't told her who it is yet. But I will tell all of you now."

"So, who is it?" Daniya asked.

"It's funny; I'm partly this species, but not through this person. She's a Calafan and her name is Yi'imspi."

"Holy cow," Mack said. "I trusted her. Damnit, I trusted her!"

"Who are the other people who were invited to see the sights, as it were?" asked the human doctor.

Mack said, "It's the Imvari, Grosk; Tag Shaw; the Jem'Hadar Xochar'inif; a female Witannen named Adeel; M'Belle the Caitian; and a female Klingon named Cilla."

"So we've got muscle from the Imvari and the Jem'Hadar at least," Marty said.

"Tag's no slouch, either. And don't forget Cilla," Mack said.

"Right, of course. Do you think the Caitian and the Witannen would be intimidated by Yi'Imspi?" asked Marty.

"Not M'Belle," Crita said. "Yi'imspi was prying the other day and M'Belle got her to stop. She was a lot more assertive than I ever am."

"So the cat has claws," Picard mused. "All right, now what is it that you truly need for us to do, Mr. Daniels?"

"Let's make it a bigger tour. Everyone in this room, all right? But play it cool. So far as you're concerned, you're just on a jaunt to see something interesting. Remember, we want Yi'Imspi to make the attempt, and of course for her not to succeed."

"What happens when the timeline changes?" asked Wesley.

"Most people wouldn't notice. But the first time this happened, it scattered people. Dana here ended up the Tactical Officer on the _Enterprise-E."_

"Was I ever a baseball player?"

"No, and you were never arrested, either, not in that timeline at least."

"Wacky. Er, go on."

"Yes, as I was saying, the very act moved people around."

"So it was like a petulant child upending a chess board?" asked Majira.

"That's a perceptive observation."

"With more people, I suppose we could all keep an eye on her better," Wesley said.

"Exactly. But do it subtly," Rick said. "And actually, that gives me an idea. Let's make the tour _only_ of Engineering. So, Dana, if you want to show these other people the diffuser or anything else, you can do so at a later date."

"Engineering's kinda cramped," Wes pointed out.

"It'll be cozy," Daniya said.

"Maybe we can make it even cozier," Rick said.

"Close off sections?" asked Majira.

"No. Invite more people."

"I don't want to share any of this with any of the other athletes. And if this thing works, I still need to deal with them. I don't want to explain that they're suddenly uninvited to know about the secret stuff."

"I don't mean players. I mean people on the _Enterprise-E_."

"Such as whom?" asked the captain.

"This would be everyone in the Hayes-O'Day-Reed-Digiorno-Madden clan."

"So you know about them," Picard said.

"Know about whom?" asked Crita. "I am afraid I am lost now."

"I suppose I'll extend the circle of people who know. I truly did not wish to. Mr. Daniels, you have just made my job more difficult," said the captain.

"I understand," Rick said. "But everyone here is trustworthy. And besides, I know how this movie turns out. These people here? They are all a part of the future of that extended family."

"Who are?" asked Daniya.

"Dana and I are second cousins," Marty explained. "And it turns out we're also related to Geordi LaForge and Mike Daniels on the _Enterprise-E._ So, Rick, you related to him?"

"A millennium makes family of us all."

"Yes, but I mean a direct descendant."

"I can't say." Rick's face tightened a bit. "But it's not that I don't want to. It's that I'm not allowed to."

"So, we'll just read between the lines, Cuz," Dana said. "And aren't you forgetting someone, Marty?"

"Oh God, yes." He sighed. "Tamsin Porter."

"I take it she's not a favorite relative," Majira said.

"That's an understatement," he replied. "But our family isn't just special because a lot of us are in Starfleet. It's, well, Carmen, how much can I say?"

"We're already in breach. May as well damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead on it."

"We have proof that our ancestry includes people from another universe. More specifically, we're all the descendants of a man named Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett. He came to our universe in 2157 and it was, heh, it was due to the actions of the Calafan people." Marty glanced at Mack for a second.

"So, there's a connection," said Dr. Crusher.

"It's more of a connection than that," Rick said. "See, I've played this coolly before and not said too much. But I'd better lay more of my cards on the table so we have the best possible chance of succeeding. Yi'Imspi is actively working to connect to the Mirror Universe."

"Mirror Universe?" asked Crita. "Are there Daranaeans there?"

"Yes, there are," Rick said. "But for humans and a lot of species, it's a violent place, full of fear and mistrust. Yi'Imspi is being paid rather well to try to restore the deposed emperor to the throne. The idea is to bring back glory to the people so they'll want a restoration of the Terran Empire."

"And what could be more glorious than invading and conquering another universe?" Mack said.

"Perceptive in any timeline," said Rick. "Yi'imspi is also playing the Federation side of things."

"Oh?" asked Picard.

"Yes. She's an operative on this side as well."

"This is all too frightening," Crita said.

"We're going to succeed this time," Rick said. "And you'll be a part of it, even if all you do is stand some place so Yi'Imspi can't. I assure you, you can do it. And your family is important to my – er, the Hayes clan. Your descendants will fight and die with the future members of the clan, and they will govern with them and eventually even marry into the clan. You and your husband are a big part of that."

"But Senjarus and I aren't even wed yet."

"Doesn't matter. Captain," Rick said, turning to Picard, "the future of the prime timeline depends on stopping Yi'Imspi. She shouldn't have been as important or rather so damaging, but it is technology on the _Cookie_ that makes that happen. The technology is amplifying the reach of her tampering. But this is technology that will one day make my time ship work."

"All right," said the captain. "Let's defend the future."

=/\=

On Yi'Imspi's side of things, she had wangled a tour from an ensign. There wasn't a lot to see on the _Enterprise-E_ that the Terran Empire in exile didn't know about. And of course Section 31 was fully apprised of all of the tech. but she kept quiet as her guide, some overly peppy human named Tamsin Porter, showed her what was allegedly the latest and greatest. But Yi'Imspi knew better.

=/\=

Mack tapped out a note on her PADD, not even bothering to use voice. She addressed it to the people who would be going to Engineering on the _Cookie,_ including, reluctantly, Tamsin Porter and Yi'Imspi.

 _I'd like you to take a tour of the more interesting parts of my ship. It'll be today. There are some marvels and I think you'll be fascinated. These are exciting pieces of technology and I feel that, together, we can all use them to keep us safer but also get an edge on anyone looking to be, shall we say, not so nice to us._

 _Meet me at where our ships are docked. Oh, and another thing – this stuff is secret. So no telling anyone, okay?_

 _See you then,_

 _M. Dana MacKenzie_

Marty and Captain Picard looked over her note. "Seems rather informal," Picard said.

"It's how I write."

"Anything more formal will undoubtedly tip off the Calafan operative," Marty pointed out.

"Right, yes. Plus we do need the other team members to act naturally."

"Then what better way than for them to simply not know what is happening? They cannot be deceptive if they don't know there's anything to be deceptive about," Crita said.

"I'll cross my fingers that they'll buy it without a lot of questions," Marty said.

"Here goes nothing." She hit send.

=/\=

Yi'Imspi read the note to herself. "It seems I have an appointment and I must attend to it. This has been lovely," she said to Tamsin, meaning absolutely nothing of what she had just said.

"Oh, I've got an appointment, too. So yes, lovely." Tamsin was equally disingenuous.

As Tamsin rushed off to fix her hair – as the distribution list for the note included Marty – Yi'Imspi ducked into an empty lab and tapped her communicator. "Usual top secret channels. Voice message only. Message is: _By the time you read this, I'll be in position. Message end._ Send message."

When the head of Section 31, Admiral Harriet Caul, received the message, she smiled to herself. "It won't be long now," she murmured to herself, "and I'll have what I want."

=/\=

As anyone who had ever been on the _Cookie_ could have predicted, Engineering was crowded by the time everyone got there. "Okay, so listen up!" Mack called out and all chatter ceased. "I asked you all here for various reasons. There's family," she nodded at Marty as Tamsin fumed, "my current staff," she nodded at Majira, "and a number of the athletes on my team who I would like to add to my staff, at least on a part-time basis if they're willing." She smiled at M'Belle and Tag, both of whom genuinely smiled back. Grosk, Xo, Adeel, and Cilla all moved just a tiny bit closer as Yi'Imspi hung back just a touch. And so, Mack knew Rick's story was true beyond all doubt – Yi'Imspi was making herself as separate from the _Black Sheep_ team as Tamsin was.

Adeel the Witannen had semi-independent flowers growing out of her scalp in lieu of hair, called chavecoi. They could sometimes betray a mood. Hers were turning shades of dark purple, forest green, ruby red, and navy – these colors were all sure-fire signs of stress and being on edge.

"Are you on the team?" Mike Daniels asked Rick.

"No, I just, I clean up."

"I see."

Geordi motioned to Wes to approach him. "What's really going on?" he whispered.

"It's kind of going to be a demo. Actually, I could use your help with that."

"You got it."

"Where would you like to start the tour?" Wes asked Mack.

"How about the retracted nacelles?"

"All right. This ship has a very interesting design. I've done my best to maintain the engine properly but it's rather different from my experience. In Starfleet vessels, the nacelles are on the outside. This makes them more vulnerable, but it also means you can ditch them if they're going to explode."

"Also," Geordi added, "outward nacelles mean ships have a recognizable front and back. That may not seem like much, but human psychology in particular needs touchstones like that. We like knowing what's up and what's down, or left and right. Having a back and a front on a ship makes it a lot easier for a crew to orient themselves when they first come on board. It's one of those things you don't know you need until you miss it. Humans who have served on Vulcan ring ships tend to take a lot longer to get acclimated. And in times of war, that can even end up being deadly."

"I never thought of it that way," Adeel said.

"We seem to have a similar issue with Klingon vessels," said Cilla. "My people never seem to have designed anything that had rotational symmetry. And I must admit my first impressions of the _Cookie_ were rather odd ones. It sometimes takes me a little while to get my space legs when I get on board after enough time planetside."

"Now," Wes continued, "the retracted nacelles have their own virtues. For one thing, because they're not visible, they aren't quite as vulnerable. However, this also means that any part of the ship can be targeted by an enemy. There's no such thing as 'target their nacelle', which is a tactic an enemy might use to cripple a ship but not massacre its crew. As a result, an enemy doesn't have a target so they would most likely fire anywhere and at anything."

"This is true," Crita confirmed. "I have been on this ship when it's been attacked, and the attacks were decentralized."

"Of course another problem is that a warp core breach is a lot worse and could happen a lot more quickly," Geordi said. "Naturally, the warp core and the nacelles aren't the same thing, but here on the _Cookie,_ they're closer than normal. So as a result, igniting the warp core means the power cells can ignite, too. It's possible not as many members of the crew would be able to make it to escape pods."

Mack watched Yi'Imspi's eyes as that last bit of information was revealed. It was a vulnerability she hadn't even considered. She spoke up, "When I bought this ship, it was essentially a prototype, which it kinda still is. It's possible the inventor didn't really take crew safety into consideration because, so far as he was concerned, it was just him."

"He might not have been considering the tactical issues, or maybe he thought he could get to them later, but he died before he could," Marty speculated.

Tamsin made a face. "It seems so silly to go through all this hullaballoo. Are you going to show us something, or not?"

Mack shot her a look. Things never seemed to be easy with Cousin Tamsin.

=/\=

Harriet Caul tapped out a note to Admiral Nechayev.

 _Contact Picard by the end of today and find out what he's been doing._

She sent the note and continued to wait, trying to be patient just a little bit longer. To have more than one perspective on that day's doings would be a good idea. She wasn't so sure she trusted her own operative. She had no proof of anything in particular. It was just a feeling. But Harriet Caul had come to trust those bits of intuition. The diffuser in particular would be a significant prize for an enemy government. The Borg certainly would want it. She had to temper her excitement with prudence.


	10. 10-Connections

Rick's variable bluish-greenish-grayish eyes scanned around Engineering. It was the modified pulse cannon. _That_ was what he had to be careful about. And Tamsin Porter was standing right by it, all the way in the back of the crowd. He strolled over, playing it cool, as Wesley and Geordi continued to lecture about the _Cookie_. He murmured to her, "Excuse me." He looked her up and down, despite the fact that he'd promised Carmen he would behave. "You look bored. Want to get a drink after?"

"What?" She shuffled a little away from him and mumbled the word "creep" under her breath.

Rick had Augment-style enhancements designed to make his job as a time traveler go better and more smoothly. So he definitely heard her. He moved over, positioning himself between Yi'Imspi and the modified pulse cannon. He tried the same line on her – what the hell. He had already propositioned Dana during more than one of the temporal iterations. And sometimes she had even been interested. If sex could keep Yi'Imspi's hands off the modified pulse cannon – and on something else – then that could work. It was a tactic he had not tried yet but he figured it wasn't a bad idea all in all.

The Calafan turned to him. "I am busy."

"C'mon, this isn't exactly fascinating."

"I've got things to do," she whispered.

"So do I. And I've got people to do, too."

"I believe the human expression is, 'Go to hell'."

He shrugged. Getting her angry at him was another plausible tactic. He was getting desperate with all of the iterations and was more than willing to throw anything against the wall, hoping it would finally stick this time.

=/\=

"Now, when we engage the engines," Wes said, "we get a humming sound and then everything springs to life." He flipped a switch and, as expected, a humming sound filled the air. "And it'll get hot in here really soon. With retracted nacelles, there's no place to vent the heat into space, like a more traditional ship does. But don't worry about the heat. The _Cookie_ pipes it all back in. So we heat up cabins that way, and also run everything from replicators to the holodeck. This means the engine is exceptionally efficient in that we don't need other power sources to handle those other power needs. It also makes the ship lighter. As a result, we don't need to refuel as often as other ships our size."

He flipped a switch and the humming noise stopped. Immediately, the area started to cool down – and a good thing, as Mack could feel she was starting to sweat and saw Marty was, too. "Since we're not going anywhere, it doesn't make sense to keep the engines on."

"Excuse me," Yi'Imspi said from the back. "But there are a lot of things back here. What do they all do?"

Daniya glanced at Mack who glanced at Marty. It was obvious – whatever she was referring to was the very thing Rick said she shouldn't touch.

"I reserve the right to keep some of my stuff private," Mack called out.

"Suit yourself," Yi'Imspi sniffed, and Mack got the distinct impression the Calafan was annoyed that they were cramping her style.

But it was true in a way – except it wasn't Yi'Imspi's style that was cramped. It was Mack's. And, she figured, Rick's as well.

"Coach," Tag said, "I don't want to hear about anything you don't want to tell me. But I gotta say, I don't think we've really been told anything yet."

"You're right," she said, "you haven't."

Rick batted a little at his left earlobe so Carmen could listen in. "I take it we're close?" she whispered.

"Uh-huh," he murmured.

"Did you say something?" asked Tamsin.

"No, no, nothing. So, Coach MacKenzie, what do you want to say?"

Mack's eyes widened. What the hell could she talk about without giving away the store? "This ship was built by a Gorn inventor. And he made a ton of things that are unique. Some of them work, and some of them don't, or they probably don't work properly. And Yi'Imspi?"

"Yes?"

"You're standing near one of them."

=/\=

It all happened so fast that Mack barely registered anything. Yi'Imspi turned to grab a device with a name Mack didn't know but she was sure Rick did. Mack and Rick both moved to intercept, with Marty and Tag coming around from either side.

But it was Tamsin who was closest, and it was she who stayed Yi'Imspi's hand. "Just what do you think you're doing?" she snarled.

Yi'Imspi hauled off and smacked Tamsin across the face, hard, using the back of her wrist. The smaller women yelped and crumpled and Majira rushed over to tend to her. Marty and Rick got to Yi'Imspi next, and then Tag. Tag and Marty held her arms as Rick said, "Whoever you're working for, you need to call them and tell them that it's all over."

"What are you talking about?"

"People don't just come to a ship like this and mess with the equipment unless they mean to steal it. And they sure as hell don't go smacking Starfleet officers in the jaw," Mack snarled.

"She deserved it. And so do all of you. You're weak, all of you!"

"But this isn't the universe where a sign of weakness is a problem," Mack said. "Yeah, you're wondering how I know that. I read the book. I know about the Mirror's Five Signs of Weakness."

Geordi and Wes came over and stood behind her. "Are you working for the Terrans?" asked Mike Daniels, a few steps behind them.

"What's it to you?"

Something clicked in Mack's head. The attack on Tamsin – although she herself had occasionally fantasized about shutting her up – was something oddly familiar. And then it all came back to her – it was just like what a guard at Canamar had done to her, years before. The bent wrist smack was a highly stylized move, meant to keep fingers away from, potentially, sharp teeth. "That's a prison guard move," she said. "So you either are or were one – maybe at Gemara? Or at the very least, you trained with them."

"I know of a group that trains with the same techniques as prison guards," Picard said. "And it's a certain group whose existence is officially a secret yet it is a part of the Federation charter all the same."

This time it was M'Belle who came over. "So you and I have the same training. Are you working directly for Admiral Caul?"

Crita gawked and finally managed to squeak out, "M'Belle! What, what is going on?"

"I was sent here to protect this ship and its treaty-testing inventions," M'Belle said. "Looks like Admiral Janeway's fears were not for nothing."

Rick blinked a few times. M'Belle hadn't been a rival Section 31 agent in any of the other iterations. He could hear tapping as Carmen frantically checked. "I've got nothing," she finally admitted. "But that's perhaps to be expected. It would explain the original hist'ry's near-immediate transfer of power after this incident."

Rick finally blurted out, "Heads are gonna roll over this."

"Is that a prediction, or a time traveler's inside scoop?" asked Yi'Imspi. "Yes, yes, I know all about him. _Audrey Niffenegger_ – did you honestly think no one would look up the meaning of your ship's name?"

"Understood."

Marty glanced over at Picard and Geordi. "You're using other technology, too, aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Yi'Imspi seemed to be playing dumb. "I just get the tech for whoever wants it. I don't care about using it."

Tamsin was better and she scrambled to her feet. For once, the overly peppy annoyance was laser-focused and all business. "I don't think so. Whatever you're doing, it's not for just one thing. It couldn't be. You've got too much at stake."

Yi'Imspi glanced from face to face. The Calafan was clearly trying to play it cool. The only thing betraying any nerves was a slight flash of a silvery arm – she was sweating just a touch, and it made the silver sparkle even more.

It was Picard who took control of the situation. "Have you a brig?" he asked Mack.

"No, I mean, not unless you count a hockey penalty box."

"Then we'll use the one on the _Enterprise-E."_

"What charge?" Yi'Imspi snarled.

"Espionage."

=/\=

The unwieldy huge group shuffled out of the _Cookie,_ with Tag and now Cilla holding Yi'Imspi's arms. It seemed as if everyone was going to visit the brig. The captain turned to the assembly. "This can't be public," he announced. "I realize it's all rather fascinating and perhaps a bit juicy. But I have to severely limit the number of persons who can be further involved. Mr. Crusher, if you could please take the other athletes, perhaps to Ten Forward?"

"Yes, sir," Wesley said, corralling Xo and the others. M'Belle hung back and he nodded at her. It was obvious she would be in the group to stay and hear what was really going on.

At the brig, Yi'Imspi was tossed in. Crita said, "I know I don't have enough clearance for this. You need to curtail the people who see anymore, yes? So, I assume I should leave, and also Tag and Cilla. Anyone else?"

"It should be us as well," Majira said, nodding at Daniya, who nodded back.

There was an Ensign at the brig and she called for someone to cover for her and then she took them out, perhaps also to Ten Forward.

Picard looked at those who remained – M'Belle, Mike and Rick Daniels, Tamsin Porter, his first officer, Dana MacKenzie, and Geordi LaForge. "I think this will suffice. Ensign," he called out to the replacement guard, "this meeting is highest level confidentiality."

"I understand, sir," he replied.

The nine of them stood in front of the brig. "What does the Mirror government want with radiation band cycling?" Picard asked, point-blank.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think you do," Picard replied.

"Captain, if I may," Rick interjected. "I don't have all the facts but there isn't much of a Mirror government right now. At least, there's no more Terran Empire."

Yi'Imspi blinked a few times. Mike seized the moment. "You want them to come back. But, but why? My understanding from the book is it was a dictatorship."

"What book?" asked Tamsin.

"Our ancestor wrote a book. I'll send it to you," Marty said.

"Oh, well, thanks." For once, she didn't bat her eyelashes and over the top flirt at his slightest attention. She just sounded distracted, focused far more on the prisoner than on any socializing.

"Power and chaos," Mack muttered. "You're working for them because you expect to get some power – or at least a hefty paycheck."

"That's an old story then," M'Belle said. "People have been greedy and power hungry since time immemorial."

"What I don't get," Tamsin said, "is that you're from _this_ side. It's obvious. So, what does that other side have that draws you to it?"

"Not me," Yi'Imspi said. "But you – all of you, but the captain and that guard over there and the Caitian – you all have Mirror blood. And once the portal is open – truly and completely open – then every single one of you will cross over. You _belong_ in the Mirror. It will _call_ to you."

"Our percentages are tiny. Martin's is 20.9914518. Mine is 20.9999946," Geordi said, reading off his PADD. "Mike's is 20.9999632. Dana's is 20.9942753. Tamsin's is 20.9999388. Commander Madden is the only one who comes close at all, and he's several generations removed. We belong _here,_ not there. Nothing's going to call to us louder than our own universe, the 21 centimeter band one."

"Him; _he's_ got a shorter band," Yi'Imspi pointed at Rick.

"20.4275300," he said, reciting from his Augment-enhanced near-perfect memory. "But that doesn't prove squat. And before you start spinning theories and nonsense, my extra Mirror blood doesn't come from Terrans – it comes from copper Calafan ancestry." _Extra_ – but his base was from Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett all the same. Rick figured no one needed to know that.

"So, you truly are a time traveler," she said. "I'm sure your tech would fetch a fine price."

"You're hardly in a position to talk prices," Mack said. "And Geordi's right. The Mirror would have to be exceptionally strong to attract people with such small percentages. Mike in particular – he's not going to go waltzing over to the other side based on one ancestor from, what, eight generations ago?"

"Something like that," Mike said. "It's not going to work. But hey, even if it did, you're in jail, in case you hadn't noticed."

"They'll free me once they know what I've got."

"Don't be so sure," Mack said. "I was in stir for almost two decades – and I was innocent! No one here is going to hand you the keys."

"Wrap this up," Carmen whispered in Rick's ear. "The timeline's restored and you know she can't do anything. Chances are over 93% that she lives and dies in prison – and takes Caul with her. You can let it go."

"Look," Rick said, "I don't think you're going to be doing much beyond rotting in a prison cell, Yi'Imspi. Just be glad you live in a time after your people outlawed potassium injections."

"What do they do?" asked M'Belle.

"They make you stop dreaming," said the prisoner. "It's a form of torture, specific to Calafans because we depend on our dream states. At least the last time it happened was with a vixen named Polloria."

"She's mentioned in the book," Mike blurted out.

"You're more intimately connected than you think," said the Calafan.

"What I want to know," said Picard, "is what M'Belle here was getting at. Who are you working for on this side?"

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"Maybe you'd have a chance to get out – eventually," Mack pointed out. "Or maybe at least you could get some protection while in the can. Because lemme tell ya, being female in Canamar means you're on the menu every single night. And if they send you to Gemara or Rura Penthe, you gotta figure that's even worse." She approached the cell. "You wouldn't want the scars I've got. Hell, I don't even wish them on the likes of _you._ And I _trusted_ you. If anyone should be feeling betrayed, it should be _me._ "

"Oh, screw your feelings."

"You seem to really not be interested in leniency," Marty said, approaching. "You could be at least protected from rape. Otherwise, it's going to be open season. And I don't wish that on you, either." And in semi-public, for the first time since they'd been far younger, he took Mack's hand.

"I have nothing to say to you," Yi'Imspi sniffed.

There was a communicator chirp and they all looked around. But it wasn't for any of the people outside the cell. Instead, it was the prisoner's communicator pin, which was currently on the guard's desk. "I'll be answering this now," he announced. "Speaker," he said, hitting the pin, an act that turned up the volume. "Who's calling?"

"Who are you?"

Picard seized the opportunity, recognizing the voice immediately. "Admiral Caul! There have been some developments!"

"I see. And what about the person who owns this communicator; are they alive?"

"Why, yes, and they're in my brig, which is where I suspect _you_ should be as well. Tell me – or, rather, _us,_ Admiral – tell us what you were going to do with an ionization diffuser and a modified pulse cannon? The former is a clear violation of the Treaty of Algeron when used in connection with the latter. I don't imagine being the head of the Section will let you off the hook for such an egregious violation and betrayal of the trust of our treaty partners."

"I've done nothing wrong."

"I beg to differ," Marty said.

"Who's that?"

"I'm Commander Martin Madden of the _Enterprise-E_. I was told specifically by Captain Picard, who was relaying what Admiral Nechayev told him, that Federation connections to ionization diffusers would be seen as treaty violations. This is why I became part-owner of my cousin's _team_ but not of her ship. Trying to covertly steal that tech and to also steal a modified weapon built by that same inventor is far too coincidental for any judge or jury to consider being _anything_ but a deliberate act to gain the means to perfect cloaking technology. That's a _clear_ violation of the treaty. At the flag officer level, you know they can't just let you do that. The biggest head that's going to roll is _yours."_

"Captain Picard, what are you going to do about this?" Caul was livid.

"I'm going to stand by my first officer's statement. Commander Madden is a fine officer and he is uniquely qualified to speak to this matter. And none of this even gets into radiation band cycling. Tell me, Admiral, what were you doing it for?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"There's a lot of that going around," Geordi said. "Yi'Imspi? Care to comment? Your mentor here is in the process of disavowing all knowledge of you and your actions. You'd better speak up before she completely throws you to the wolves."

"The band cycling," Yi'Imspi said, "you knew about it, Admiral. When I told you what ex-Emperor Charlie Six was looking to do, you told me you supported it. You said you could use it."

"Who are you going to believe – her, or me? She'll do anything to save her miserable silver skin!"

"Captain," I'm ready to talk – _really_ talk."

"You'd best come here if you want any say in the matter," Picard said.

"I'll, I'll be on the next ship. Should take me a day or so. Caul out."


	11. 11-Respect and Restraint

"You'd best stay for that," Carmen whispered. "I'm not so certain where this is all going. I only know how this movie turns out. But I have absolutely nothing in records when it comes to the details. You're on your own."

"Understood," he muttered softly. "I'd like to stay for that, if that's all right with you, Captain."

Picard shepherded them out of the brig and then said, "By all means. Dana, perhaps you can post guards at the right places and then let your athletes back on board."

"Yeah, that's a good idea, thanks." She engaged her communicator bracelet. "Daniya, we're going to stay for at least another day, maybe two or so. But the athletes need to get back on the _Cookie,_ except this time with guards for the diffuser and really anything in Engineering. And I'll need someone to guard the _Audrey Niffenegger,_ too."

"I can put Cilla and Xo and Tag on Engineering, and Grosk for the diffuser. I'll have Wesley rig something to protect that time ship."

"That'll be fine. You and the Boy Wonder are in charge, thanks. MacKenzie out."

"Don't worry too much about _Audrey_. She's got… defenses." Not to mention Carmen, who was still listening in and taking note of the proceedings. Carmen would have no qualms about blasting everyone and everything away and then going through yet another iteration if the time ship was attacked or tampered with in any manner. It was the very essence of her job to do so.

"Gotcha." Mack turned to Picard. "Okay, I guess I'm ready."

"Why don't you and M'Belle stay on board the _Enterprise-E?"_ the captain suggested. "And you, too, Richard."

"Thanks," said Rick. "Captain, I also appreciate you not pushing for _Audrey_ 's secrets."

"I'm the captain of this ship. It's my duty and my honor to extend courtesies to fellow captains such as yourself and Dana here."

"Eh, don't stand on ceremony for lil ole me," Mack said.

"Here, let me get the three of you to guest quarters," Marty offered as Mike and Geordi left to get back to their stations and Tamsin, too, departed. "That is, if you don't mind the further delay, Captain." He lightly touched the small of Mack's back.

"Mr. Madden," Picard said. "I know you and I didn't exactly get off on the wrong foot at the start. And that is unfortunate and I regret it."

"Thank you, sir. And I appreciate how you – to coin a phrase – went to bat for me with the Admiral."

"I had suspected something, as did Dr. Crusher, and I'm very pleased to see it confirmed today."

"He's a fine officer, eh?" asked M'Belle.

"That part was without question. I am talking more about Mr. Madden and Ms. MacKenzie here. Cousin or no, you are clearly in love and I, for one, will not stand in your way. But I'll also do more."

"Oh?" asked Marty, interrupting.

Picard smiled for a second. "I shall actively work to make _certain_ that you can be together. You've both been instrumental in bringing down what may turn out to be a rather large and damaging cabal indeed. Even if the conspiracy is a small one, it's still rather high up the command food chain. Any flag officers not involved, such as Janeway, are going to want to reward you for your parts. And that should mean, shall we say, looking the other way or at least avoiding prosecution."

"I'd rather that didn't happen," Mack said. Marty looked stricken, so she hastily added, "It's not that I don't want to be with Marty. My God, do I ever! But I want it to be _legal._ I've had too much illegality in my life. I don't want anymore and I sure as hell don't want to drag him into any of it. The Straight – er, your first officer – doesn't deserve that. And wouldn't that tank his career, anyway?"

"This is the flagship of the fleet. We should be able to get more allowances. But I do see your point. Mr. Madden, what do you think?"

"I want us to be together. Mack calls me the Straight Arrow, and there's a reason for that. I've never been in any sort of serious trouble. Hell, I've barely ever been in trouble at all, even when I was still a teenager. But this is different. She is the person who matters the most to me, more than anyone, ever. And she always has. I'll do nearly anything. But I can see her point, and I know her ordeal was horrific. If she is trying to protect me from something like that, then I appreciate it. I know that's being done out of love."

"Speaking of protection and ordeals," M'Belle said, "if we really want to push Yi'Imspi to talk, then telling her just how bad an ordeal she could have – that could be a rather effective strategy."

"I don't know," Mack admitted. "I don't necessarily want to be poked and prodded and labeled as Exhibit MDM. I understand what you're driving at. I'm just not sure."

"Understood," said Picard. "Martin, I shall expect you back on the Bridge in, say, three hours' time, all right? M'Belle, Mr. Daniels, please make yourselves comfortable." He turned and left.

Marty got the three guests situated, M'Belle first. When the Caitian had shut her door, he turned to Rick. "You know how it all turns out, don't you?"

"I don't always know details. There are certain levels of smaller detail that can change. We don't concern ourselves with minor alterations, like if the first step you took today was with your left foot rather than your right. There's a lot of activity that goes on in time that just plain doesn't matter. We try to look at a bigger picture. Otherwise, we'd be incapable of keeping up with all of it."

"Right," Mack said. "But you do know about the law, don't you? Do we get it overturned?"

"I can't say. But I will tell you that I think your chances are better than 50-50."

"Works for me," Mack said.

"I just had an odd thought," Marty said. "Are we your ancestors?"

Rick swallowed hard. To tell, or not to tell, that they were, in a direct line, his mother's forebears? And they were consanguineous with his father's ancestors? "Richard," Carmen whispered, "keep your mouth closed."

"I, maybe let's not talk about such things," he said.

"Right, yeah, okay," Mack said. "You know I'll just believe what I wanna believe, right?"

"No doubt." Rick smiled a little. "You always do."

"Fourteen iterations, huh?" she asked. "Do you think this is the right one, and it'll stick?"

"Well…."

"Let the man hang around and figure that out," Marty said.

"Thanks. Anyway, I'd best get settled in." Rick shut his door.

Mack and Marty stood in the doorway to her guest quarters. "Wanna come in?"

"More than anything."

"We only have a few hours."

"I know," Marty said. "So maybe, well, maybe something where we're not anxiously trying to, well, make up for lost time."

"That's probably a good idea."

He kissed the top of her head. "You know how I feel about you."

"And you know I feel the exact same way about you."

"I do have one question, Mystic."

"Hmm?" she asked. They looked out a viewing portal with her standing in front of him. He put his arms around her and she leaned against him.

"But if you don't wanna tell me, it's okay."

"I see. I think."

"Your ordeal. M'Belle is right. If you make it a lot clearer as to exactly what happened to you, I think Yi'Imspi will crack like a silver egg. But that means _a lot_ clearer, as in pictures, or in person."

"Maybe. Truth is, we should probably wait for this Caul woman and _really_ make it good." Mack bit her lower lip. "I never told anyone."

"Only tell me what you want to. Maybe we can turn Yi'Imspi without you having to relive all of it."

"Maybe. I don't know." She turned back to look at him. "Please don't consider this a come-on, okay?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"If I'm going to come clean, then I've got to take off my top. And I'd rather start here, with you. I trust you implicitly."

"I'll keep my hands to myself, I swear." He thumped his chest once.

"Thanks." She was as good as her word, removing her Black Sheep jersey and then her shelf bra camisole, tossing them both on the bed.

He gasped a bit when he saw, and it was not from desire. "Oh, Mystic. I kinda suspected, but I didn't realize it was quite this bad."

"Yeah, it is. See, this one," she ran a finger along a deep, jagged scar, "is from Krosh. Before Anchel."

"Got it."

"According to Majira, I have a healed fracture in my left leg. She says it makes my foot pronate, and I certainly agree. There are healed ligaments in my right shoulder. Then there is the matter of the scars and healed burns all over my breasts, including a missing left nipple. I was damaged a thousand ways till Sunday. This is what prison life is, even if a woman is tough, and God knows I'm tougher than Yi'Imspi – _maybe._ For sure I'm tougher than Caul."

"Admiral Caul is also a lot older than you are."

"That doesn't matter to prison rapists. All they care about is you've got a particular style of wedding tackle. That's it. You could be an infant or in your dotage. All they care about is if you're biologically female. And if you are, then for your fellow prisoners, it is open season on them raping you."

"Couldn't you tell a guard?"

"Much of the time, they either participated or watched."

"I see." He sighed deeply and then put his hands on her shoulders, facing her, close. "Mystic, can I ask why you've stayed this way? Can't you have Majira heal you? I mean, after I suppose pictures would be taken."

"She already offered to take pictures a while back. Truth is, I'm not even so certain anymore, Marty. I needed to own it and I think I still do." She reached for her camisole. "But I think maybe I can finally do that without being in pieces."

"I will support whatever you do, in this or anything else."

"It's a fear in some ways, that so much damage would be such a turn-off that I would be, well, alone forever."

She was still topless, holding her camisole. He pulled her close and enveloped her in his strong arms. "I love you, Mystic. Scars or no scars or a million scars. My love for you isn't just skin deep, and neither is your beauty."

"Oh Marty, I love you, too." She put her hand on the side of his face and gently caressed it. "It's _always_ been you. There's never been anyone else for me, not really. Not for the way I _truly_ feel."

"I feel the same way. It's funny. Here we are, and I am seeing parts of you I haven't seen."

"Yet you're not going nuts."

"I find you to be exceptionally beautiful and sexy and an incredible turn-on, no matter what. But I can still restrain myself if and when I need to, Mystic. I respect you. But tell me, oh topless gal of mine. Er, mine?"

"Yours, yes. Tell you what?"

"Tell me what you want to do."

"A photo shoot and a repair session, I think." She broke contact first and pulled her camisole back on. She grabbed her communicator bracelet. "MacKenzie to Majira."

"Hello, Dana."

"I want to do something you suggested a while back. If you're free, that is."

"Oh?"

"I want to, I, I think I want you to heal me. But I also want to document my injuries."

"As a memento?"

"In a way, I suppose. But also to convince a certain Calafan saboteur that she should sing like a canary."

"I'm not sure what a canary is. But yes, I see your point, in that making your injuries obvious, and showing her just what could happen to her in prison, that should convince her forthwith to cooperate. When do you want to do this?"

"Actually, hang on a sec." She turned to Marty. "I think I'll need to become an exhibitionist for this."

"And?"

"And that means I need to strip in front of a few people. And I think that my being there will be a lot more convincing to Yi'Imspi than just showing her a bunch of photographs."

"She could lie to herself and claim the photos were doctored. But you, in the damaged flesh, as it were, you'd be a lot harder for her to wish or explain or rationalize away."

"Exactly. And I think she's kidding herself if she thinks the admiral she's conspiring with will help her and bail her out at all."

"When do you want to do this?"

"More or less now."

"And who do you want to be there?"

"You and Majira, of course."

"And Yi'Imspi."

"So, her guard, I imagine. It would probably be helpful for Rick to be there as well."

"Oh? Mystic, at some point, heh, you're almost getting to the point of needing stadium seating."

She chuckled a little. "It's not like I'm including Tag or the Boy Wonder. I would like Dr. Crusher there, for anything Majira can't do."

"Right, of course. Anyone else?"

"I, well, I think the captain needs to be there, and M'Belle. She's an agent."

"So, nine people. You and me, Yi'Imspi and her guard, the captain, the two doctors, and Rick and M'Belle. Anyone else?"

"No, nobody else." She then remembered the communications link was still open. "Did you get all of that, Majira?"

"Yes, of course. I think this had best be soon, for isn't Admiral Caul coming in a day or so?"

"Then now, I guess. We'll meet you at the brig. MacKenzie out." She re-engaged her communications bracelet. "I'd like a conference call with Captain Picard, Dr. Crusher, and Rick Daniels and M'Belle. Those last two are in guest quarters."

"Connecting you now, Cuz," replied Mike Daniels.

"Thanks. I'm calling everyone," she said after Mike had dropped off the call, "to invite you to join Marty and me in the brig. With Yi'Imspi and her guard of course. Majira will also be there."

"What's this all about?" asked the captain.

"I know exactly how to get Yi'Imspi to talk. She needs to see just how badly things can go in prison. I've got numerous scars and a ton of old injuries. And it'll be a lot more convincing if I show her in person, rather than a bunch of pictures. Then after, I want Majira to heal me. I'm asking you to come along, Dr. Crusher, in case she needs any help."

"Of course; I'm only too glad to assist."

"Dana," Rick said, "I realize this is a lot of people already, but how would you feel about a tenth person?"

"Who are you proposing?"

"My boss. She's been here with me – she's still aboard _Audrey,_ actually. And beyond fixing the problems with the timeline, we're also here, like we are on any temporal mission, we've also got an exploratory duty. We have a ton of gaps in our records. So, do you mind terribly if Carmen observes?"

"I guess that's all right. But no more, okay? This is already turning into a second three-ring circus, after the big meeting on the _Cookie_. I don't really want to flash my chest to an entire football team's worth of witnesses."

"This _is_ going to be an interesting meeting," Rick quipped. "When will it be?"

"Now."


	12. 12-A Reunion of Shadows

The others were already at the brig by the time Mack and Marty arrived. Rick came over with a brunette in a futuristic smart suit and heels. "Dana MacKenzie, Martin Madden, I'd like to introduce you both to my boss, Admiral Carmen Calavicci."

"How do you do?" Mack said, shaking hands with Carmen. "You always keep such a close eye on him?"

"We're a bit short-staffed right now. We'll be hiring more time traveling agents soon," she said. She had a British accent.

"I see," Marty said. "Must be exciting work."

"It pays the nonexistent bills," Carmen replied. "Are you ready, Miss MacKenzie?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." She turned to the guard. "Do you mind filming this?"

"Uh, sure. But if things get dicey with the prisoner, all bets are off," he said.

"Thanks." Mack looked around at everyone. "I don't do this lightly. Yi'Imspi?"

"What?" The Calafan was none too pleased.

"I want to show you something. And I want everyone else here to witness it and record it and have it on hand so that you know exactly what happened, and you can keep it later. It'll be proof for you."

"I'm not interested."

"Oh, you _will_ be." She turned to Marty. "Can you hold my stuff, please?"

He smiled at her. "Of course."

The outfit she was wearing was the same as before – dungarees, sneakers, a Black Sheep jersey, and a shelf bra camisole on underneath. She doffed the jersey and handed it to him.

"So, are you strip teasing for me now?" Yi'Imspi snarled.

"No. I'm proving something to you." Mack pulled off her shelf bra camisole and handed it to Marty. "Are you getting this on camera?" she asked the guard.

"Yeah, I am."

"Make sure to get everything – my back, all of it, okay?" She turned to the prisoner. "I'm showing you all of this not for some sort of a come-on. It's because I want you to see exactly what happens in a prison. And I was in _medium_ security. Max, I imagine, is a lot worse. Fortunately for me, I was only in max briefly as a part of my transition back to civilian life."

"So?"

"So, I want you to understand – truly and deeply – just what can and most likely _will_ – happen to you."

"It's not necessarily true for everyone."

"I'll grant you that. I saw women who had it worse." Mack paused.

"Worse?" asked Dr. Crusher.

"Oh, yeah. A Xindi sloth permanently lost an eye. And I saw an Andorian who was battered so badly she went nuts. They transferred her to an asylum. Yi'Imspi – what I've got is typical. What happened to me is utterly normal. It's something you can _expect."_

"Or you could turn evidence," Picard offered.

"No way," huffed the Calafan.

"Suit yourself," Marty said. "But you can't say no one tried to warn you."

"Do you honestly think your co-conspirator is going to help you?" asked Majira. "I don't imagine the admiral has any love for you and your predicament. Do you believe the admiral will stick his–?"

"Her," Picard interjected.

" _Her,_ sorry. Would she stick her neck out for you? You are already in custody and the admiral is not. If I was the admiral, and I had no morals and no ethics, I'd be inclined to want to keep things that way."

Carmen and Rick stood near the back. "Your great-times-a-thousand grandmother is a bit feisty," she commented. "Was she like that in prior iterations?"

"Absolutely."

"This the first time you've seen her topless?"

"No comment."

"Yi'Imspi, is it?" asked Dr. Crusher.

"Yes?" At least the Calafan wasn't being nasty. Mack and Marty, the guard, the captain, the two doctors, Rick, Carmen, and M'Belle all stared at Yi'Imspi. It was the first time she'd been civil during the entire meeting.

"I probably know the least about what's going on right now," Dr. Crusher continued. "But I can tell you for a fact that I haven't seen scarring and the evidence of burns and beatings like that, not from the Borg or from warfare. Yes, I have seen horrors. But we fix them quickly and all that's left is memory. And I hate remembering such things, but I feel sometimes I have to. And I need for you to understand something. Dana's injuries are worse because no one treated them, not really. She's got barely healed tissue. This is the sort of thing you might have seen during the days of the old _NX-01._ It's not what you see now. Dana, was there _any_ medical care at Canamar?"

"Yeah, there was a doctor. But he wasn't much for treating you unless you did him a favor."

"I take it those were rather unpleasant favors," said Captain Picard.

"That's a nice way of putting it. It's all about your body, Yi'Imspi, and God knows you're a beautiful woman so it'll be far worse for you. They will _all_ be on the make. Male, female, trans, middle of the road, dual, non-gendered – it doesn't matter, not really. It's all about everyone's body in prison, but anyone who seems soft or cute at all gets it the worst. You will barely get a chance to sleep. They will interrupt you any time you try to eat – and it's not exactly gourmet fare there, either. Half of it'll make you sick and the other half will be stolen. You'll get harassed – and catcalling will be the _nicest_ part of it. They'll shove you and take your shoes if you don't watch it."

"You won't get letters, either," Marty prompted.

"That's right; you don't get letters, no matter who sends them. You never hear the news of the outside world. There will be a new president of the Federation or maybe several and you will have no idea about any of that. My own parents died while I was in stir and I wasn't told the news. I only learned about it when I was finally freed. And you can see from my own experience just how long it takes to get an appeal to go through and win it when you're innocent. But when you're _guilty?_ Your appeals will be meaningless, if you try for them at all. I had the slimmest thread of hope to sustain me. I had a vision for the team. I remembered all of the things I knew and loved." She looked at Marty for a second. "And those all sustained me. I remembered what it was like to cook, how it smelled and tasted. I remembered every piece of artwork I had ever seen, and every piece of music I had ever heard. Those things nourished me when for the tenth and one hundredth and twelve thousandth time I went hungry and was beaten for complaining."

"My understanding is that your species communes through the dream state," commented Picard. The Calafan nodded a little. "But you know that's not truly real. Even if you eat and drink in your dreams, those fantasies are not going to fill your belly."

"I suspect dream medical care will not heal you, either," Majira commented.

"Precisely," the captain agreed. "Dana, tell us, were you allowed literature or anything of the sort? Did you get any kind of enrichment?"

"No, I wasn't. I also had to give them my PADD. I traded it when I got out and they finally gave it back to me, because I know what they're like and they undoubtedly put tracers on them."

"Was any rehabilitation attempted?" asked M'Belle, commenting for the first time.

"No. You couldn't work; you couldn't even repair your clothes if they got damaged. You barely had a means of washing yourself and your stuff. Every few months or so, supplies would come in. You'd get a new prison uniform if you were lucky. And if you were really fortunate, it had a snowball's chance of fitting. Of course, when you get thin from starving, almost anything fits."

"And if you were unlucky?" asked Marty.

"Then you stayed shabby. It didn't matter how cold it was. Canamar had two temperature settings – freeze your ass off and melt under a broiler. There was nothing in-between."

"May I ask," Dr. Crusher ventured, "why everything was dependent on supplies? Why weren't uniforms and the like simply replicated when needed?"

"It wasn't until I was leaving that I learned they had replicator technology at all. Basically, it's just another way to break your spirit and crush your will. Technically, they're not supposed to be torturers. And, technically, they're not. But they do what they can to make your life annoying and uncomfortable and miserable. And they look the other way while atrocities are being committed on your person. They don't hustle and run over if you scream. They take their own sweet time if they even come at all. Their sole concern is to make sure you don't die."

"Why is that?" asked the prisoner. Everyone turned to look again. It was the first time she'd actually been interested in and curious about what Mack was saying.

"It's because the death of a prisoner brings with it an inquest. They don't want to go to hearings and explain what's going on. They don't want to have to defend their policies and their behaviors. They don't want to be questioned or corrected or told what to do."

"It won't stay that way forever. It, it can't," Yi'Imspi said.

"It likely won't be that way forever; that much is true," Picard said. "And perhaps a few words in the right ear from the captain of the flagship of the fleet would be persuasive. But there's no way to tell, not really. What's their incentive to change?"

"Would you complain? Would you protest?" asked the prisoner.

"Not without you doing something first," Marty interjected. He glanced at Picard for approval and the senior officer nodded once.

"I'm not interested in sleeping with him."

Dr. Crusher came close enough to the prisoner that she was almost touching the force field. "Don't flatter yourself. That's not what Captain Picard has in mind."

Picard picked up the thread of the narrative. "Talk," he said, coming up behind the doctor and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You need to. If you suffer from so much as one-tenth of what Dana here did, then you will be miserable."

"I doubt they'd go easy on traitors," M'Belle commented. "And then there are your fellow prisoners. The guards won't like your betrayal of Federation values. But when it comes to the other prisoners? They may take their patriotic feelings – such as they are – out on your person."

The prisoner's eyes shifted slightly. "Wait: I have something," she said, utterly out of the blue.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Marty.

"Our dream states – they allow us to contact the so-called Mirror Universe. And if there is going to be anything happening to me, it might be of interest for you to see the other side of things."

"You mean the other party you've been working for?" asked the captain.

"Yes. And you can reach them with an article that's with my possessions." She gestured at the guard.

The guard looked around at what he had of hers, which wasn't much, just a scarf and a small folded article which could have been anything. "Is it this?" he asked, holding the folded item up.

"Yes, it is. There's a Calafan coin in there. It's a Lo. When the entire group is in physical contact, and at least one is in contact with the coin, you'll be able to make dream contact."

"Why would they want to do that?" asked Carmen.

"If I'm going to turn evidence, then I imagine the more I can offer, the better off I'll be. So, I'd like to implicate both of my buyers. And this is the only way you'll reach the other one. That is, unless you've got a spore hub drive or a spare wormhole around."

"Or a modified pulse shot," Rick whispered to Carmen, who nodded.

Mack and Marty, the guard, the captain, the two doctors, Rick, Carmen, and M'Belle all stared at Yi'Imspi. "Just unfold that," she said, "and you'll find it. And for the easiest way to get so many to sleep at the same time, I suggest the application of a gas or other drugs."

"Dr. Majira," Dr. Crusher said, "you and I had best monitor this."

"I'll need to, of course," the guard said.

"We'll stay out of it," Carmen said, nodding a bit at Rick. "We can get this information in another fashion. I'd rather you all stayed focused."

"Agreed," said the captain. He tapped his communicator pin. "Mr. Daniels, Mr. Madden and I shall be indisposed a bit longer than anticipated. Kindly retain command a bit longer but do inform Dr. Crusher if there are any communications from Admiral Harriet Caul."

"Understood," Mike replied. "Daniels out."

There was a bench in the brig, a place for visitors to wait. The captain sat down with M'Belle next to him and then Marty and then Mack.

The guard handed the folded article to Picard. "What is this?" asked the captain.

"It's a billfold. Oh, wait, I forget most worlds don't have them," said Yi'Imspi. "I keep a spare Lo around – just in case. The Daranaean on MacKenzie's ship?"

"Crita," Mack said. "You know her; she's got a name. And she thought you were her friend at one time."

Yi'Imspi sniffed in derision. "She's probably got a Stond or two or twenty lying around. You use money, then it's not so easy to get used to not using it."

Dr. Crusher took the Lo from the captain. "It's a large coin with an image of four stars on its obverse – I take it those are the stars of your system?"

"Yes, they are."

"Whose picture is it on the front?" asked Marty once Dr. Crusher had passed the coin to him.

"That is Yi'Adioni. She was the High Priestess of my people in the late 2100s. It used to be that there were no portraits on our specie. She is the first. She was a beloved High Priestess."

"A great honor, I'm sure," said Picard, taking the coin back. "And we just hold this coin?"

"Yes," said Yi'Imspi. "But you need to be sleeping. Doctors, I'm sure there's something you can do."

Dr. Crusher and Majira conferred. "Any ideas?" asked Dr. Crusher. "We've got a few species to contend with."

Majira thought for a moment. "Coulamine."

"What's that?"

"It's from _your_ history, actually – from your third world war. Injected, it causes madness. Consumed, it's a high."

"That doesn't sound promising."

"The vapor form will just make most species sleep. Fortunately, not Ikaarans, such as me – we're fine. I'll stay awake with no trouble."

The guard came over. "I've got rebreathers, enough for all of us and really any other person who needs them."

"That will be good for the rest of you," said Majira. "And I suppose we'll see what happens."

"I suppose we will," said Dr. Crusher, as the guard went to fetch the pair of rebreathers. She went over to the bench. "Are you all ready?"

"More or less," said M'Belle.

"I suppose we should hold hands or something." Picard looked at Dr. Crusher for a moment, who nodded.

"Just a second," replied the Caitian, retracting her claws. "This should be more comfortable for you, Captain Picard." She turned to Marty. "And you as well, Commander Madden."

"Thanks," said Marty. He turned to Mack and took her hand. "Sweet dreams, Mystic," he whispered.

"You, too," she whispered back, as Carmen, Rick, Dr. Crusher and the guard donned rebreather masks and Majira started the gas.

Mack didn't feel anything odd, although she was expecting such. She was awake, and then she was suddenly plunged into darkness, so black and palpable, thick like licorice.

=/\=

 _Then there was light but it wasn't bright. It was more shadowy._

 _It was a long hall and she was no longer lying down. Marty was still holding her hand, but otherwise, no one was in physical contact._

 _They started walking, and Yi'Imspi joined them, free as the first time Mack had ever seen her. Calafans of every size and description, silver in aspect, walked, too. Some trudged with the weight of the world. Others strode along, confident and happy. Still others searched furtively or eyed each other._

 _"_ _My God," Mack commented, "it's a singles bar."_

 _"_ _You don't know how right you are," Yi'Imspi said. "And now to the Mirror."_

 _But Mack saw something else and didn't quite register it. But it was familiar. Or, rather,_ _ **they**_ _were familiar. There was a guy who looked nearly exactly like Marty. And he was holding hands with one blonde-haired woman who was very pale and also with one who had brown hair and, to Mack, it was as if she was looking in a mirror of her own. Those people shimmered with an otherworldly light, different from everyone else. "Wait, wait a second," Mack said._

 _Marty saw them, too. "Yeah, just, just a moment. Please."_

 _Picard and M'Belle and Yi'Imspi stayed behind as Mack and Marty approached the trio. Two other figures stepped out of the shadows. One was a thin, shorter man who held the blonde's other hand. The other was a redheaded woman who held the brunette's other hand. Mack felt her jaw quivering. "We, I think we know you," she breathed._

 _"_ _Of course, you do," said the blonde. "We're family."_

 _"_ _You're Doug," Marty said. "Er, aren't you?"_

 _"_ _Yes, I am. And with me are Lili, Melissa, Norri, and Malcolm. We are all your ancestors."_

 _"_ _They named you for my little sister, Misty," Melissa said. "She was an ornithologist."_

 _"_ _Oh, I, uh, I'm not so sure what to say to that."_

 _The blonde – Lili – grinned at that. "Isn't it_ _ **weird**_ _?"_

 _"_ _It feels impossible," Marty said._

 _"_ _Yet here we are," Malcolm said, in a clipped British accent reminiscent of Carmen's._

 _"_ _We read your book," Marty said to Norri. "And it helped so much. So, so very much. Thank you."_

 _"_ _I'm glad. And you probably don't realize it, but your family is going to marry back into mine, and soon. Tamsin will marry my brother, Alex's, descendant, Leo Chelenska."_

 _"_ _I'm so happy to know that," Mack said._

 _"_ _Me, too," Marty confessed. "I never wanted to hurt her feelings."_

 _"_ _Of course not," Lili said. "You are a good person. You both are. And you may or may not remember what we're about to tell you."_

 _"_ _We'll try," Mack offered._

 _"_ _You_ _ **will**_ _be together," Melissa said. "I vow to you that you will. Our family motto is just one word: '_ _ **Forever**_ _'. And that means it will go on. It will be through you, through the LaForges, the O'Connors, and more. Love never dies. Love is forever."_

 _"_ _We need to go," Yi'Imspi insisted. "I didn't bring all of you here for a family reunion. Do you want to meet my contact, or not?"_

 _"_ _Just, just a second. C'mon," Mack said. She turned back to the family. "I can't just leave you."_

 _"_ _Do you remember your dreams?" Lili asked._

 _"_ _No, I never have."_

 _"_ _That's because we've been in them. And so, have other ancestors, and even descendants, both direct and consanguineous. This is the legacy of our family – one of its legacies. You already know you're transuniversal hybrids," Malcolm said._

 _"_ _You're never alone," Norri said. "And the same is true of Geordi and Mike and Tamsin, and even Lilienne Hayes and the others, like Tina O'Connor. Right now, there are thirteen living descendants. Through you – all of you – there will be more."_

 _Lili and Norri put out their hands and touched Mack or, rather, they did and they didn't. They were ethereal, as wispy as clouds. Or ghosts. But Mack still felt them contact and connect with her. Melissa put her hands on Mack's face, a light touch that was almost like the tiniest thrum of electricity. "We love you," she said. "You have always been loved. And you have always been watched over, even in your darkest hours." She hugged Mack, another slight touch, as did the others._

 _Marty found himself embracing the men and the women as well. Doug clapped him on the back a few times. "You remind me a little of Neil. Your goodness radiates in you."_

 _Lili looked at the two of them and made a decision at that moment. "Doug can go with you to the Mirror. He belongs there, in a way. But we don't. He will be your guide." She nodded a little at Yi'Imspi and then whispered to Marty and Mack, "She thinks she can ditch you. Don't let her."_

 _"_ _Of course not," Marty murmured._

 _Lili hugged the two of them together and said, "Trust your dreams. They will guide you home." She kissed each of them on the cheek and then she and three others melted into the shadows._

 _Doug became easier to see, more clearly defined than before. "Come," was all he said._


	13. 13-The Crossing

_Picard looked Doug up and down. "Are you our Virgil, sir?"_

 _"_ _Excuse me?" Doug asked._

 _"_ _I know what he means," Yi'Imspi sneered. "Virgil guided Dante through hell."_

 _"_ _Oh. Sort of, I suppose. But the Mirror Universe, difficult as it is, it is not hell."_

 _"_ _You sound like someone who has been there. To hell, I mean," said M'Belle._

 _"_ _One could say that. It's not a separate place," Doug explained. "But I'm not at liberty to tell you much about it. And we've got certain fish to fry that aren't those."_

 _"_ _Don't mention fish around us felinoids," M'Belle joked a little. "Is there an afterlife for Caitians as well, do you know?"_

 _"_ _There's an afterworld for everyone."_

 _"_ _Good to know," she replied._

 _Calafans strolled by, mostly silver. They generally ignored the six of them. Throughout, Marty and Mack held hands. "I'm glad you're with me," he murmured to her._

 _"_ _Same here. Makes this easier to deal with. It's so strange." She paused for a second. "Uh, Doug? Grandpa? Um, what should we call you?"_

 _"_ _Doug is fine."_

 _"_ _Are we invisible or something?"_

 _"_ _It's me; I kind of am. I only show myself to those I want to see me."_

 _"_ _Oh, um, okay."_

 _They took a turn and suddenly everything turned dark. The Calafans in the neighborhood were all coppery, and the population seemed sparse. It felt, to Mack, as if she was walking in a bad neighborhood. For just a second, she remembered how she'd been arrested. It had been an open air market on Keto-Enol but the day was ending. And someone had slipped drugs into her bag – the harsh, expensive, often deadly high called_ _ **etrotherium**_ _– street name:_ _ **fugu**_ _._

 _"_ _Let's be careful," Picard cautioned. "One could turn an ankle."_

 _"_ _It's because of our eyes in the Mirror," Doug explained. "We have a Y Chromosome Skew whereby close to three-quarters of all births are males. And we have extreme photosensitivity. I suppressed my photosensitivity as well as I could when I crossed over. I wanted to fit in and I didn't want Lili or Melissa to have to worry about me in that way."_

 _M'Belle, like any cat on Earth, had no trouble making her way. "It feels almost as if this area is a place for prey to be hunted by predators."_

 _"_ _I suppose you could say that," Doug affirmed. "What do you think?" he asked, turning to Yi'Imspi._

 _"_ _I think I want to be done with you." She took off like a shot, running, with an athlete's grace and speed._

 _But M'Belle was also an athlete, as was Mack. They ran after her, even though it was noticeably darker and Mack could barely see anything. Picard was right – she could injure herself – maybe – if she wasn't careful. But would it really be a real injury in her dream? Silently, she thanked Lili for the warning that Yi'Imspi would run._

 _She was faster than M'Belle, even in the dark, turning on the base stealing speed she'd been known for when she played shortstop and occasional second base on the Titan Bluebirds. With the ground or floor virtually ebony black, she had to trust her instincts and relied on muscle memory – how she had taken out occasional catchers during a play at the plate. Mack hadn't been 100% above spiking an opponent back in the day, if she could get away with it. And so, in the nearly pitch-black anteroom to the Mirror Universe, she slid, with imaginary spikes up, straight into the ankles and calves of the fleeing Yi'Imspi._

 _The Calafan fought back, connecting with a roundhouse right. But that was all she did, as almost a yowling sound came out of M'Belle as she pounced. Claws out, the Caitian did damage to the lovely traitor's face._

 _There were footsteps, running. It was Doug, with Marty hot on his heels and Picard bringing up the rear. Effortlessly, Doug picked Yi'Imspi up by her throat. "I used to kill people for fun when I was alive and in the Mirror. Lights!" he bellowed._

 _Mirror denizens scattered and, through dint of will, he manipulated the scene and illuminated it. Doug squinted in the glare._

 _The scratch was readily visible. It was skin-deep and it hadn't drawn blood. Instead, it had done something far different. One layer of skin down, Yi'Imspi wasn't silver at all. She was copper._

 _And so, by definition, she, too, was a denizen of the Mirror Universe. "This is old home week for you, eh?" Doug said. He turned to Marty and Picard. "Did you know about this?"_

 _"_ _No, we didn't," said the captain. "May I ask: how did you become silver?"_

 _Doug let Yi'Imspi down, switching his grip on her throat for a grip on her arm. The Calafan coughed a few times, trying to catch her breath. "Surgery," she finally spat out._

 _"_ _Paid for by whom?" asked the captain._

 _"_ _My patron in this universe."_

 _"_ _Not the Section?" asked M'Belle._

 _"_ _No, I was silver when I got into Section 31." She glared at all of them. "You want to cut that out? It kinda hurts."_

 _"_ _That's the idea." Then something seemed to turn in Doug. He took a deep breath, responding as if he was listening to someone who no one else could hear. "Fine. And I'm only doing this as a part of my atonement. But if you try anything else, you're getting body slammed. And I'll take an extra millennium of begging for forgiveness if I have to." He passed the Calafan onto Marty. "You know what to do, son."_

 _Marty nodded. "Enough stalling. Take us to your patron in this universe."_

 _A wave of a silvery hand produced a red door. "In there."_

 _"_ _She's not bluffing; he's really in there," Doug said. "But this is my stop. I'm really not allowed to go any further."_

 _Marty passed the Calafan to M'Belle and Picard. "Doug, you, well, thank you for everything. You've been amazing."_

 _"_ _I'm not amazing. And keep in mind what I said about atonements and killing. Hell isn't real, but purgatory is, in a way. You have to atone for your wrongs. And that can take centuries. Believe me, I know." He hugged Marty. "You're a lot like Neil. I'll tell him you said hi."_

 _"_ _Okay, I guess," Marty said; clapping Doug on the back a few times as Doug had done so before. But Marty's hands passed right through his forebear's back. "Wisps of cloud," he mumbled to himself._

 _Doug nodded and then turned to Mack. "Great speed."_

 _"_ _Heh, I'll be paying for it in the morning. Or will I?"_

 _"_ _A bit, yeah." He put an arm around her shoulder, another light touch, and shepherded her away slightly. "Let me tell you something private."_

 _"_ _Oh?"_

 _"_ _You're going to win. Just try to remember that or at least sense it in your bones." He kissed her on the cheek and she hugged him but her hands seemed to pass right through him._

 _"_ _Specters and shadows," she commented. "Will I remember any of this?"_

 _"_ _Not exactly. When it comes to clarity, you'll remember only the part that happens_ _ **after**_ _you go through that door." He smiled a crooked smile at her. "You look a helluva lot like Mellie did when I first knew her. Love is all that matters, and it never dies."_

 _He turned away and melted into a shadow joined by other shadows – Melissa, Lili, their counterparts, Malcolm and Norri and their counterparts, and his own counterpart, Jay Douglas Hayes. The shadow lifted, and the door opened of its own accord._

=/\=

On the awakened side of things, Majira and Dr. Crusher heard occasional murmurings and even saw the prisoner crumple as if shoved by an unseen hand.

The guard called for backup and the two physicians attended to Yi'Imspi once her cell was opened. "Can you heal her?" asked Dr. Crusher.

"I can't tell. It's very odd." Majira placed a hand on Yi'Imspi's cheek and the Calafan's skin glowed. But where the doctors were expecting to see silver, it was copper. "What do you imagine this means?"

"It means our prisoner isn't what or who she claims to be. I've got a feeling." Dr. Crusher tapped the communicator pin on her uniform top. "Geordi LaForge, in Engineering."

"Yes?"

"Geordi, do you still have that radiation band tester?"

"I have the wand, or I could send B-4 over to do the honors."

"Maybe both of you should come, and bring the wand with you. Take a rebreather for yourself."

"Be right there. LaForge out."

"Is this a good idea?" Dr. Crusher asked Rick.

"Absolutely. You've got good instincts."

Once they arrived, B-4 went through with retesting – and testing Majira for the first time – everyone, as Geordi used the wand in order to confirm or question the android's findings. As expected, both doctors and guards all had a radiation band of 21 centimeters. So did the android. Geordi, as expected, had a radiation band of 20.9999946. Then they both tested the sleeping prisoner.

And, sure enough, her radiation band was 20. "Pure Mirror," said Dr. Crusher.

"That also means extreme photosensitivity, yes?" asked Majira.

"Yes, we can test once everyone's awake and the cell is closed up again."

"In the meantime," the guard said, "we'll cuff her." He took out an instrument that shot out a magenta beam which created a paralytic field Yi'Imspi would not be able to breach.

=/\=

 _In the opened door, they saw shadows and dim lighting, but there was an occupant, sitting on a chair that seemed, to Mack, to possibly be a throne. He was wearing a robe and what looked like it might even be a crown of some sort. A stray thought crossed her mind. Were they supposed to announce themselves? Yell 'yoo-hoo' or something?_

 _"_ _Enter," the shadowy figure said, and that settled things._ _"_ _What are you doing here?" he asked Yi'Imspi. "And who are these people?"_

 _"_ _These nosy so and so's are cramping my style."_

 _"_ _So, why'd you bring them?"_

 _"_ _If I may," Picard said, "Yi'Imspi here is a prisoner and she has led us to you. And you are, according to her, her patron and her funder for any number of," he paused, "enhancements."_

 _"_ _I paid for her to get painted with silver calloo. The rest of it is not my concern or my doing."_

 _"_ _Who are you, anyway?" Mack asked._

 _"_ _I am the Emperor Charles the Sixth of the Terran Empire. I am also the eleventh of my personal line. And you are?"_

 _"_ _Dana MacKenzie. With these riches," she gestured in a sweeping fashion so as to encompass the entire dream room, "you should have been bankrolling everything. So why didn't you?"_

 _"_ _None of this is real," Yi'Imspi sneered. "He's got no throne and there is no empire, not anymore. He lives in a damned hut. He's poorer than the poorest in the Lafa System." She waved a hand and the throne was gone. Charlie Eleven was unceremoniously dumped onto the virtual ground. His garb went from royalty to rags in an instant._

 _"_ _Now see here!" he bellowed. He scrambled to his feet. "This is a dream. Anyone can be anything – and anyone can say anything they please." He glared at the Calafan. "And that includes these sorts of lies."_

 _"_ _She's right that there is no Terran Empire right now," Picard said. "We get occasional intelligence and it was mentioned. I imagine Richard Daniels would know when there's a restoration. That is, if there ever is one. So, who is telling the fullest truth?"_

 _"_ _Maybe it doesn't matter," Marty said. "I don't really care if you're rich or not," he said to Charlie Eleven. "All I care about is you outfitted Yi'Imspi here so she could cross into our universe and wreak havoc. As for the rest of it – so what? Play pretend fantasy emperor if you get your jollies that way, but don't do it on my time."_

 _"_ _Captain Picard," M'Belle said, "do we have enough, do you think?"_

 _"_ _Perhaps. Tell us, Charles, what is your next move?"_

 _"_ _Like I would ever tell you."_

 _"_ _So, you would just let Yi'Imspi here slowly twist in the wind?" asked Mack._

 _"_ _She is none of my concern."_

 _"_ _Listen, loser," Yi'Imspi menaced, "I can make a phaser in here. And the wound it would inflict would be very, very real."_

 _"_ _You're bluffing. No one's ever done that before."_

 _"_ _Try me."_

 _"_ _All right," Charlie Eleven said. "Captain – Picard, is it?"_

 _"_ _Yes, that's right."_

 _"_ _She, she is the one to blame. She pushed me to try for a restoration. She said it would make us both wealthy. But so far, nothing."_

 _"_ _What about the radiation band cycling?" Marty asked. "What are you doing that for?"_

 _"_ _To get wealth, of course. Commoners," he snorted, "so incapable of seeing the bigger picture."_

 _"_ _I do just fine," Marty countered. "Where were you planning to invade?"_

 _"_ _Does it matter?"_

 _"_ _Well, it kind of matters to the people you wanted to invade," Mack said. "So why our universe, specifically?"_

 _"_ _Yours is the easiest one to get to, given the Calafan superhighway, as it were. But once the proof of concept is all worked out, I should be able to sink my teeth into any universe along the scale. Forty-ninth, two centimeters, anything. It doesn't matter to me, so long as there are good spoils of war. And speaking of that," he addressed Yi'Imspi directly, "Why haven't you made any more progress? Where are my conquests, and my legions? Where are the riches you promised, and the new subjects to crush under my heel? You're hot but you're nothing but a miserable failure."_

 _"_ _Seems like they both are," Marty murmured to Mack, who nodded._

 _"_ _You haven't paid me."_

 _"_ _Do you not realize that I can't really pay you without conquests? Stupid girl." He turned to the others. "You just can't get good help these days."_

 _And that's when Yi'Imspi attacked. She conjured up a phaser out of thin air and aimed at him. But he reached out and grabbed M'Belle, throwing her between him and the blast. The Caitian let out a yowl and then crumpled to the ground in a heap._

 _"_ _Majira!" Mack yelled. "Dr. Crusher! Get us out of here!"_

=/\=

"Did you hear something?" Majira asked Dr. Crusher.

"It sounded like my name was being called. You?" she asked B-4 and Geordi. They both shook their heads.

"I think we should wake them," Majira said. "I have a very, very bad feeling."

As if in response to her statement, M'Belle started to bleed from an unseen wound in her chest.

"Cut the gas now!" Geordi yelled.

Carmen glanced at Rick. "Do we know what's supposed to happen to the Caitian?"

"No," he whispered. "But she wasn't an agent in the original history. I've afraid this iteration might kill her."

Majira was already trying to heal M'Belle even before the gas stopped.

Mack and Marty, Picard and Yi'Imspi all blinked, looking around. It had been quite the rude awakening. But at least the Calafan was no longer armed.

"Who shot her?" the guard asked. "And how?"

"It was _her_ ," Picard said. "She was aiming for the deposed Terran Emperor." He looked at the cuffed Yi'Imspi. "If she dies, then the court system will not be kind to you."

=/\=

It took both doctors working on M'Belle together to get her healed completely. Dr. Crusher had herself, Majira, and the patient all beamed directly to Sick Bay. As for Yi'Imspi, she was returned to her cell. Picard commented to Mack and Marty, "We shall see what happens with the head of Section 31. But we certainly have a good percentage of our answers, I'd say. I do hope it doesn't come at the expense of M'Belle's life or future health. Good work."

As for Mack, any thought of healing her wounds and scars was forgotten for the nonce.


	14. 14-Revelations with Pumpkin Spice

"Can we talk to you?" Mack asked Rick as Marty looked on.

"Of course."

"I mean some place private," she said. "Like my ship, I suppose. Captain, do you mind if I continue to borrow Marty – I mean, Commander Madden here?"

"By all means. We'll reconvene tomorrow at, say, 0900 hours? We'll have some breakfast and await the admiral's arrival."

"Thank you," she said. She engaged her communications bracelet. "Wes? Can I have you meet us at the _Cookie_?"

"When?"

"Soon as possible."

The three of them returned to the _Cookie_. Wes was already there, waiting. "What's going on, Coach?"

"Well, apart from figuring out how deep Yi'Imspi was with the Terran Empire, M'Belle was also hurt but she's gonna be okay."

"All right; I'll visit her in Sick Bay once I get the all-clear from Mom or Majira. Does Crita know?"

"Good idea." She engaged her bracelet again. "Majira? Could you please let the team know what's going on with M'Belle?"

"I already told them. They are working out what sort of a gift to give her. Confidentially, I'm voting for candy."

"Good going. And thank you. You've been amazing. Mack out." She turned to the men. "Okay, now that that's all settled. Wes, I want you here because I want to know exactly what is on this boat."

"Dana, I'm not so sure I should be telling you any of that."

"Richard," she said, a little exasperated, "I have a team member in custody and another who almost died today. And it was all about the technology on my little ship. Consider us sworn to secrecy. We won't tell a soul."

"Of course not," said Marty.

"You can count on us," Wes agreed.

"But let us know. Because I really want to know if anyone else might come knocking and want something else. Let us know what to look for. And right now, I'm not involving Crita and Daniya and Majira but I would like for them to be privy to this information as well."

"I thought you said you weren't going to tell anyone."

"You know what I mean. Those people are my innermost inner circle. I know they're trustworthy."

Rick tapped the back of his left ear, to engage his implanted communicator. "Yeah, Carmen? Join us on the _Cookie,_ please."

Carmen materialized in front of them nearly immediately. "You got a pretty quick beam-in," Marty commented. "I suppose the folks in the transporter room weren't too busy."

"I didn't go through them. We've got our own little bag of tricks. Now, what the devil is going on?"

"I want to know everything that's on my ship. We'll keep quiet but for the inner circle but we really do need to know."

"I see," Carmen said.

"Can we tell them?" Rick asked his boss. "Or will that be against protocols?"

"Oh, screw the damned protocols. I think you're entitled to know – all of you," she said. "You've been through plenty already."

"Then let's go to Engineering," Wes suggested. "Because apart from the ionization diffuser, I am guessing anything of note would be in there."

They walked together, passing the diffuser. Carmen stopped and walked back after they had passed. "Richard, are you seeing what I am?" She pointed to a series of switches above the diffuser. If someone sat in the seat right by it, the switches would be just overhead.

"Ah, a communications booster."

"What's its range?" asked Wes.

"About a third of the way through a quadrant, going diagonally," Carmen said.

"I had no idea we had something like that," the engineer admitted.

"We didn't know, either," Carmen admitted. "By the time your ship becomes a part of the Temporal Integrity Commission's files and the Temporal Museum at Lafa II's exhibits, some of the technology is stripped out. I'm a bit surprised by this. We'll have to update our records."

"Temporal Museum?" asked Marty.

"Oh, that's right. It doesn't exist yet," Rick said. "My sister is a docent there. The place is built in the 2500s."

"Is the family involved somehow?" asked Mack.

"No, for once, they aren't. But a lot of the family will work there. And the old Hayes – I mean, Beckett – House is preserved for all eternity. The Reed House was added onto dozens of times and is where the offices are. My sister Eleanor's office is just off what was Lili and Malcolm's kitchen. They painted it yellow. So, she had her office painted the same shade."

"I do love our family," Mack said.

"I feel just a tiny bit left out," Wesley admitted.

"Your descendants will unite with the line. A few centuries and we're all family, more or less," Carmen said.

"Me and Lakeisha?"

"Oh, screw the protocols, again and again. In for a penny for the telling, in for a pound, I suppose. Yes, Mr. Crusher – you and Lakeisha Warren."

"Hot dog!"

"Don't, er, don't test it," Rick cautioned. "What I mean is, just because you know it's supposed to work out, don't go around trying to make it _not_ work out, if you know what I mean."

"Of course not. I love her. I wouldn't go around hurting her deliberately and God knows I would never try to hurt her for fun or for some stupid experiment."

"Good," Carmen said. "Because we didn't confirm this just so you could cause that girl any pain."

They started to walk again, arriving at Engineering in a few minutes. "Wes," Rick said, "tell us what you know so we don't repeat it."

"Sure thing. Here is where the intermix ratio is monitored, and of course here are the twin engines themselves." He walked around, pointing, as he talked. "Over here are the override controls for the phaser banks, in case the Tactical station is damaged or the Tactical person is out of commission. It's also a way to take control of at least the external weapons in case we're ever boarded. Now over here we've got the dilithium chambers. I've never been on a ship before where there were two of them. Then again, I've also never before been on a ship with two engines. But that may be due to the fact that the nacelles are retracted, built straight into the design. Photon torpedo overrides are over here. Just like with the engines and the dilithium chambers, there are two of them. It's odd that there's only one phaser override station. Everything else seems to have redundancy built right into it." He stopped and looked at them all. "As for the rest of it, I'm just guessing."

"What are your guesses?" asked Carmen.

"This looks like an ancient phase cannon. And I recall trying to get it to fire but it just sort of – it's hard to describe this – but I got a small kinda a hole in the air, if that makes any sense. Then that hole just kinda dissipated. I get the feeling it needed more power, but I think if it'd given it more power, I would've damaged the ship."

"Were you planning to do anything with this piece of equipment?" Rick asked.

"I was going to fire it outside the ship, in order to see what would happen. Er, what _would_ happen?"

Rick and Carmen glanced at each other. "This we really and truly cannot tell you," Carmen said.

"I thought you said, 'in for a penny' and all that," Marty pointed out.

"Well, this is apparently another bit of the technology that was stripped out before the _Cookie_ got to the museum," explained Rick. "Let's just say it would do something that Old Man Doug would have been mortified by."

"Doug," Mack said softly. There was a slight memory on the tip of her tongue and the back of her brain, but she wasn't able to put it all together. "Uh, why?"

"Doug's from the Mirror," Marty said. "So, I bet a shot from this thing would open the door. Leonora's book said he had never wanted to go back there. He had made his home and his family here and he never wanted to return to where he was always in danger of being knifed."

"Should we destroy this tech?" asked Wes. "I mean, I normally wouldn't. But you said you don't have it. I take it you don't know how or why you don't have it, though. So why can't it be that it was taken out of commission here and now, and tossed on the ash heap?"

"You want to ruin my stuff now, Boy Wonder?" Mack asked.

He laughed a little at that but then caught himself. "Wouldn't that fix things, though?"

"Are we supposed to ever use this in the future?" asked Mack. "Because if we don't have to, then hey, sure, why not? But if we are gonna need it; I would rather not be missing it."

"Truth is," Rick said. "We have no idea. Understand that we simply don't have ever single nugget of information in the Master Time File. Otherwise, it would be time itself, impossible to manage."

"Then we should keep it," Mack decided. "Just in case. What's that?" she asked, gesturing at a silvery contraption attached to a panel.

"That's a very, very early prototype of a device which allows me to walk through certain kinds of walls," Rick explained. "I wouldn't recommend using it in its current state."

"You'll get no argument from me," Marty said. "And this?" It was a series of tubes attached to a panel bolted to another panel.

"Well, well, well," Carmen said, "It appears that Szish was experimenting with a form of a spore hub drive. But with no _Prototaxites stellaviatori,_ the _Cookie_ would be all dressed up but with no way of going. Of course, by this time period you're not using the mushroom drive anymore anyway."

"Do you know why?" asked Marty.

"It can really screw up the pilot," Rick explained. "And by pilot, I mean not the person at the helm, but the one injected with tardigrade DNA and holding the coordinates in his or her head. That person is more of a living navigational computer than a navigator. It's not really something our brains are designed to handle."

"Maybe we'll leave the mushrooms for soup and Beef Bourguignon," Marty suggested. "Anything else we should know about?"

"Probably not," Carmen said. "And that's not me being cagey or anything; I'm just doubtful there's anything else as we would have probably seen some form of evidence of it."

"All right," Mack said. "Just one more question."

"Oh?" asked Rick.

"What happens to us?"

"C'mon, we can't tell you that."

Carmen thought for a moment. "Here. It'll be one thing and one only." She nodded at Rick. "We'll throw you precisely one bone. And then, truly, we have got to be going."

"You're going to win," Rick said.

"Win what? Is it a game, or something?" Mack asked. "I'm, heh, mystified here."

"You'll see," Rick said. "Good-bye, Dana, Marty, Wes. It's been pretty damned amazing." He looked Mack in the eye and his eyes were shining a little. "I think I'm going to miss you."

"And that's a lot," Carmen said. "Richard here is a professional. He mostly just goes in, does his job, and then departs. But you're different."

"I guess we are," Mack said. "Will we ever see you again?"

"Never say never," Rick said. "May I?" He approached her as Marty looked on.

"Of course." They hugged. He kissed her forehead. "Go forth and win."

"Do our timeline proud," Carmen said, shaking hands with Wes and then Marty. "It's been our great pleasure to meet you and to get to know you."

Standing together, shoulder to shoulder, Rick and Carmen looked at Mack, Marty, and Wes one last time. Carmen engaged her implanted communicator. " _Audrey,_ energize." And then they were gone.

=/\=

On the _Audrey Niffeneger,_ Carmen and Rick rematerialized at the back of the Bridge and then walked to the piloting seats. "Prepare for time jump to 3101. Richard, I should like for you to go to 2763 next and get a handle on James Horan and Phillipa Green."

"Oh?"

"Not _that_ kind of a handle, you old lecher, you! You will need to get them to stop tampering with the timeline. Or at least try to."

"Right." Rick thought for a moment and then flipped switches. "Just about ready to jump. Carmen, I hope they can be happy."

"Didn't you notice how they look at each other? That tells me one very important thing."

"Which is?"

"There is no way they could possibly _not_ be happy together. They will be."

"Maybe they'll be like my parents; I don't think I have ever known a couple more in tune with one another."

"There's the spirit. Initiating jump… now!"

The _Audrey_ took a few hours to jump when all was said and done. The time ship was slow and was in the process of being replaced by newer, better technology. But it could still get them where they wanted to go.

They skidded into the top secret headquarters of the Temporal Integrity Commission, where the rest of the Human Unit was waiting for them. There was Kevin O'Connor, part-human and part-Gorn; he was a descendant of Geordi's cousin Tina O'Connor. There was Otra D'Angelo, a Witannen like the athlete Adeel, but Otra could see temporal alternatives. There was Dr. Boris Yarin, part-human, part-Xindi sloth, and part-Klingon, a bundle of nerves and energy, married to Darragh Masterson's descendant, Darragh Stratton, who was also related to Rick's mother, Chloe Masterson Daniels. And lastly there was a squirrely adult ADHD-addled engineer, Levi Cavendish, a descendant of the Crushers.

"Welcome home," Kevin said, his accent betraying a youth spent in Wisconsin. "You kids done good."

"The timeline is completely restored," Otra said, chavecoi bouncing and turning shades of lavender, gold, peach, and seafoam, sure-fire signs of happiness, truth, and her innate kindness.

"When you get a chance, Carmen," Boris said, "I should like to go to a medical conference. It will be about treating nonhumanoid species such as Tholians."

"Good idea," Carmen said. "Feel free and make sure to expense everything to our HQ here, the _USS Adrenaline._ "

"Now that you're back, can we get pumpkin pie?" Levi asked.

"Sure," Rick said. "Pie sounds like the best idea ever."


	15. 15-Message from a Future Guy

"I wish I knew what they meant about winning," Mack said.

There was a communicator chime, and Marty tapped the pin on his communicator top. "Madden here."

"According to Mr. LaForge, Admiral Caul is arriving," said the captain. "I shall expect you in conference room B as soon as possible."

"What about Myst – er, Dana – and Wes Crusher? They're both here with me."

"Have them come along with you. And Ms. MacKenzie, please contact your inner circle and M'Belle and have them join us. That is, if M'Belle is deemed fit for duty."

"We'll be there. Madden out." He turned to Mack and Wes. "I guess it's show time."

=/\=

Admiral Harriet Caul was getting close to the end of her career and just didn't have time for such BS shenanigans. As for the incarceration of her operative, she elected to play it cool – or take down Nechayev and the others if necessary. In the choice between loyalty and a prison cell, loyalty would lose, every single time. She was well aware of the kinds of atrocities Mack had suffered in Canamar. And Mack was tough and resilient! But Harriet was far older and frailer and knew that she would be damned lucky to survive the first assault on her person, never mind the fifty-fourth or however many could happen to her before she would finally quite literally give up the ghost.

The Section's shuttle, while not cloaked, it might as well have been. It was a nondescript affair, the kind of thing that no one performing a cursory inspection would ever suspect it held the second-most powerful person in the entire United Federation of Planets and the latest cutting-edge technology, along with a pilot sworn to absolute secrecy and utter silence.

Just before docking, there was a shimmer within the shuttle. Was she being boarded? "Who's there?" she hollered. The pilot had already drawn her sidearm.

The shimmer never materialized into a fully formed, beamed-in individual. Instead, the shimmer spoke. "I am James Horan. You will hear from either me or my associate, Phillipa Green. We will direct your activities from now on."

The shimmer disappeared and the pilot resheathed her sidearm. "Do you know what the hell is going on, Admiral? Who were those people?"

"I wish I knew."

=/\=

It was Marty's task to escort Admiral Caul to conference room B, where the captain was waiting with Geordi, Mike Daniels, Tamsin Porter, Dr. Crusher, and M'Belle and Mack and her inner circle. The admiral glanced around the room, at the total of twelve other people in it. "I take it this isn't a welcoming committee, Captain Picard."

"We are curious about a lot of things, as you may very well imagine. Your operative has revealed quite a bit."

"Oh?"

"We know you were instrumental in working to get information about the ionization drive on my ship," Mack said. "And I'll lay better than even money that you financed her education and training."

"And that is something we like to do with all of our employees, including M'Belle here." The admiral gestured in the Caitian's direction. The unspoken subsequent phrase most likely should have been, ' _You wanna make something of it?'_

"Admiral," M'Belle said, "I will do a lot for the Section. I am grateful for my training and for every opportunity. But I'm not in your employee to smash treaties to bits or cozy up to universes run by despots."

"No one's asked you to."

"But you asked a certain person who is in our brig," said the captain.

"Actually, she came directly to the Section. We were impressed and took her on immediately. She proved to be resourceful. But I assure you, Captain Picard, she goes down her own little primrose paths. Anything to do with the Terran Empire was not of my doing, or at my direction, or even of my knowledge."

Mack had a nagging feeling about that. It seemed a little _too_ convenient. "How do you compensate your agents?"

"There's no money; you know that," Caul said.

"For the Federation, no," M'Belle confirmed. "But we are compensated. I get gold-pressed latinum. It's felt that Section agents need a little something more. Of course, it's also of help if we end up someplace where we're on the job and we need to slip someone a bit of the old filthy lucre."

"That's for your work," Caul clarified.

"So, you were paying Yi'Imspi, yes?" asked Mack.

"We compensate the agents, yes. That's true. But as M'Belle stated, that's for extras and to assist them when they're out in the wild and all. Otherwise, they are citizens of the Federation and, as such, their economics are the same as your own."

"So, if you pay your people," Mike chimed in, "then Yi'Imspi going off on her own, that would be, it would be volunteering, right?"

Tamsin picked up the thread of the narrative. "And she wouldn't have done that! She was working for money. Extras would not have been done for free."

"Admiral," Captain Picard interjected, "I think you're being a bit fast and loose with the truth. That feels rather inadvisable right about now."

"Like I said, we provide latinum for extras and so the agents can do their jobs more effectively and smoothly. We don't want them getting hurt, not if we can help it. So, if a little money can speed the way, we will provide it. But as I have stated already, that is for work. It's not for our agents to buy clothing or the like. They don't need to, no more than any of you do."

"Admiral," said Mack, "I'm sure you know my history. You seem to know everyone's."

"You're a former convict."

"That's right. And we traded at Canamar. It was what you could get for someone, or for yourself. It was all the time, every day, and with no breaks or anything. And you get used to that. Yi'Imspi made it clear by her actions that she was trained at a prison. I don't know if it was Canamar, or Gemara, or Rura Penthe, for that matter, and I hardly think that matters to my point."

"Which is?" asked the admiral, an edge of impatience in her voice.

"My point is," Mack fought to avoid becoming peeved at such behavior, "you get used to that. It's awfully easy to forget that most of the rest of the Federation doesn't deal in cold, hard cash."

"That's your theory?" asked Caul, incredulous. "So, let me see if I understand you. You say that a certain person in the brig may or may not have trained at a prison and may or may not have been exposed to a more commercial lifestyle. And that person may or may not have gotten used to it and expected compensation for their actions. Is that right?"

"You don't have to be so damned snippy about it." They all turned to the person who said that: Tamsin. "Well, it's true," she added. "And I should know. I'm the Queen of Snip and Snipe. I can see it coming from a light year away."

Picard jumped in. "Be that as it may, Admiral, the heart of the matter is this: whether such a change occurred is immaterial. Your agent went above and beyond the call of duty. There had to have been something in it for her. And I know this because every communication we have had with her has made it crystal clear that her primary motivation is profit – as much as any Ferengi."

"I still think you're clutching at straws, Captain."

"Captain, can we talk to you for a moment?" Marty nodded a little at Mack.

"By all means. Excuse us for a moment." The three of them got up and walked just outside the door and waited for it to shut. Once that had happened, Picard asked, "Well?"

"I think we should bring her to the brig," Marty suggested. "Not so much to throw her in there, but more to show her Yi'imspi. Someone's bound to say something."

"So, we could assure her that it's not for her arrest," Picard mused.

"Actually, Captain," Mack said, "let's do nothing of the sort."

"Oh?" asked both men, nearly at the exact same time.

"What I mean is – you and I all know it won't necessarily be for that. But let's get her rattled all the same. Make her _think_ we're tossing her in. Trust me, Captain, I know what that first moment is like all too well, where you realize, this is it. It's terrifying."

"Maybe we don't have to say anything," Marty said. "We'll just say, we're going to the brig and bringing her along and then let her leap to the wrong conclusion all by herself."

"It'll be better if we're the only ones in on this," Mack said.

"Right, right. Leave it to me," Picard said. He led the others back into the room and assumed a cheerful air. "My colleagues rightly inform me that this inquiry is going nowhere." Then his tone turned menacing. "So, I've decided that we're to continue this discussion in the brig."

There were murmurs and it was obvious that no one, from M'Belle to Caul to Tamsin, Geordi, Mike, Dr. Crusher, and Mack's inner circle, had expected this.

But it was Caul's widened eyes which drew Mack's attention. And in that instant, Misty Dana MacKenzie knew the plan was working. The Admiral was outwardly calm and quiet. But inside, she was terrified.


	16. 16-Fugu

Geordi quietly approached Mack as they walked. In a low voice he asked, "What the hell is going on?"

"You'll see," she whispered.

"Whatever you're doing, I hope it works." Inside, Mack hoped the same thing.

The entire entourage got to the brig fairly quickly. Yi'Imspi snarled, "Back so soon?" Then her face fell a bit. Even though she was probably expecting the admiral to show up at some point, seeing the powerful woman face to face was a bit more daunting.

The admiral immediately sat down on a seat in the brig without invitation. The guard, a young woman who was standing at attention so perfectly and ramrod straightly, looked as if she were about to burst a blood vessel. "Ah, Admiral?" The guard's eyes searched their faces, her jaw trembling. As the head of Section 31, Caul was as powerful as Federation President Jaresh-Inyo and probably, covertly, a lot more.

"Let's get down to brass tacks," Caul ordered. "Why exactly are we here, and what do you want? Why is this woman in custody?"

"She tried to kill me, in case you have forgotten," M'Belle stated.

"Beyond that," Caul answered, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "If that was all it was, then she would already be amassing her legal team, and you would have transferred her to the nearest starbase. And that reminds me – doesn't she have the right to an attorney? And don't I?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Picard allowed. "Yi'Imspi, do you want a lawyer?"

"If my talking gets me out of this, then no, I'm good. I've never cared for lawyers."

"Admiral?" asked the captain.

"In a moment, maybe. Let us see how this goes. After all, I know I have nothing to worry about."

"Very well," Picard said. He then turned stern and serious, looking her straight in the eye. "What do you know about radiation band cycling?"

"About the same that you do."

"She knows more!" Yi'Imspi called out. "She ordered it!"

"The band cycling knocks on the doors of universes," Marty said. "It pings them. It tells them – ' _we're here and we're smart'_. It tells them, too, that we have advanced tech. And that would be an ionization diffuser and, apparently, a modified pulse cannon. Now the prisoner here, she's told us a lot about her Mirror Universe connections. And on the other side, the Terran Emperor in exile ordered them."

"He wanted to punch his way in here," Mack added. "I'm guessing he saw us as a soft target and a return to his former glory. If he could deliver us on a silver," she glanced at Yi'Imspi for a moment, "platter, then anyone would let him back into power. But then there's you. What are _you_ doing it for? You've already got power in spades."

Caul remained stoic and said nothing. Tamsin filled in the gaps for her, "I got it figured out!"

"Oh, really?" Caul cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes! I get it now. You already have power so that's not really your motivation. It's more that you have a motivation beyond power."

"I bet it's to get a jump on the Romulans!" Mike said.

"That, yes," Tamsin allowed. "But it's also because you love your job."

"Is that a crime?"

"It _is_ when you use your job to snoop and spy. That's the real issue here. You want your fingers in every pie imaginable, and you know you can do it if you bring in people who already know how. You know you can't be the head of Section 31 forever, but you want to be. You want your own empire, and by developing the perfect tool for future secret police, you'll be able to get it." Tamsin was getting excited, pacing a bit in the brig as Caul involuntarily blanched. "And you're reaching out to other radiation bands to see if they're viable. But the one you really, _really_ care about is the Mirror! You know they are a dictatorship and so you're more than willing to throw open the doors for them. You want to let them in because you think they're going to hand you the keys to the kingdom for being so helpful. And you want to use their methods!"

"Power and chaos," Mack said. "That's it. Tamsin, you're a goddamned genius. It's all about power and chaos. Use one to create the other. Use the other, to get more of the first one. And around and around you go. No wonder you and Yi'Imspi here took to each other like old pals. You want the same thing out of life. Only on her side, she's looking to end the interregnum and restore the emperor to the throne. "

"But you want to _create_ an empire," Geordi said.

"It's like Alexander the Great or, or no, no, Catherine the Great!" Mike was getting about as excited as Tamsin was, pacing in the opposite direction and almost colliding with her a few times. "It's all about controlling the known universe! And if you can grab power in the Mirror, too, then it's a bonus."

"Who else is working on this?" asked the captain.

"You actually _believe_ their accusations?" Caul yelled, a sudden change in volume that was startling.

"I believe these people are intelligent and they have no motivations to lie or exaggerate."

Crita had been so very, very quiet during nearly all of the unfolding proceedings. She finally asked, "Is there someone who works directly under the admiral?"

A shadow passed over Picard's face for just a second. "Admiral Caul," he said, "who else is involved, beyond Admiral Nechayev? Is it anyone else at the flag officer level?"

The next thing moment happened so fast that Mack barely had a chance to register it. Caul must have had some sort of pill with her and she shoved it in her mouth, biting on it without taking any water and before anyone could say or do anything.

Majira rushed over, grasping at the admiral to try to find some way, somehow, to empathically heal a woman who had taken a drug which was effective in seconds. After less than a minute, she looked up. "I can't do anything. The admiral is dead."

"That's, that's awfully fast," Picard commented. He engaged his communicator pin and called for an emergency beam-out to Sick Bay. The beam was a wide one, transporting not only him and Majira and the admiral's body, but also Mack and Marty.

Dr. Crusher looked up, surprised. "What's going on?"

"The admiral is dead," Majira explained. "But it was exceptionally fast. I know tricoulamine works quickly, but an Ikaaran empathic healer such as myself should be able to stop and reverse the damage if the healing starts in less than five minutes, and this did."

"Oh, dear," said Dr. Crusher as she ran a sensor over the body. "I can only think of one thing that could do this."

"Which is?" asked the captain.

But it was Mack who answered. "It's etrotherium, right? Street name, fugu. It's an expensive high. But just like fugu, if it's prepared improperly, it's lethal. Am I right?"

"Toxicology will take about fifteen minutes or so," Dr. Crusher said. "But I would say I can't see any way you could be wrong."

"And that's why you were arrested; it's what was planted on you, right?" asked the captain.

"Yes. Maybe there's even more of a connection than we had thought." Mack chewed her lower lip in thought.

"Mystic, I don't think this was premeditated for two decades."

"No, Marty; it's more that I think if the admiral had it then maybe she's connected with making it."

"That's an interesting hypothesis," said the captain. He engaged his communicator again. "Kel Perrim?"

"Yes?" came the answer from the Bridge.

"Go to the nearest starbase. We have a prisoner who will need a transfer and to get an attorney on her case." He paused for a moment. "And get me Admiral Janeway."

"Right away, sir." After a moment, Kel Perrim said, "Go ahead."

"Admiral Janeway?"

"Yes, Captain Picard?"

"It is my duty to inform you that Admiral Caul is dead."

"What happened?"

"She was questioned closely about radiation band cycling and other matters. Apparently, she was looking to seize power and convert the Federation and as much of our universe as possible into her own personal fiefdom. She committed suicide via capsule. We're waiting for toxicology but the current theory is that it was etrotherium."

"That is very disturbing."

"We believe Admiral Nechayev may also have been involved, although possibly not so far as the extent of the power grab. I personally suspect that Admiral Nechayev was involved in the band cycling and maybe also to obtain an ionization diffuser, and maybe even a modified pulse cannon. But it's entirely possible her ambitions stopped there."

"Either way," Janeway said, "a jury will decide, I imagine. I'll deal with Security and Nechayev's custody and removal personally, under the direction of President Jaresh-Inyo, of course."

"There's also the matter of a Calafan prisoner," Marty chimed in. "She's apparently from the Mirror and was a part of it."

"But we wouldn't have figured out what was truly going on without her assistance. I recommend leniency," said the captain.

"We'll see what happens," Janeway said. She sighed. "Harriet Caul! We weren't friends, but it's still troubling when a colleague is not who they appear to be. I would praise you and tell you that this was good work, and it was, but right now all I feel is a betrayal and a sadness. I'll keep you posted. Janeway out."

Picard looked at Mack and Marty. "I have to concur. This is disturbing on so many, many levels. I feel the fallout will take a while to subside. I want to thank you both for your part in this matter. And I should like to thank the rest of the group as well."

"Everyone did something," Mack said.

"Just like a team," said Marty.

"I have the toxicology test results," Dr. Crusher said. "And you were right. It was indeed etrotherium that killed the admiral. The test results also say that it was a particular strain mainly found in the bloodstreams of users on Keto-Enol."

"So the people who framed me two decades ago – it was the same stuff?"

"That appears to be so," the doctor confirmed. "Such a waste."

"The Federation owes the two of you a debt of gratitude," said the captain. "Maybe take a few moments in private and consider how and if you would like to be rewarded."

"I, eh, whoa," Mack said.

"We'll go to my quarters," Marty said. "Maybe give us an hour, all right?"


	17. 17-Love, Law, and Money

He opened the door to his quarters. "Well, this is it."

"I've been in your quarters before."

"And as I recall, you were topless."

"I wasn't exactly trying to be cute or anything. My, er, scars and stuff, do they turn you on, or something?"

"Only in the sense that they are _yours,_ Mystic." He slung his arm around her and they looked out the viewing portal. "May I make a suggestion?"

"By all means."

"I know you and I have been talking about, well, about us."

"We always talk about us, given half a chance."

"Agreed. But it's also, you know, we're at a stalemate. I suppose we could marry outside the law." He shrugged.

"No, no, wait! Rick said we should go forth and win. It's this! _This_ is what he meant."

"Not Yi'Imspi and Caul? I had thought it was kind of a backhanded reference to them."

"No, it wasn't. I mean, I think it wasn't. Marty, we should fight this law."

"But when, and how? It's going to be a madhouse here, dealing with the fallout from Caul and, I am guessing Nechayev, and all of that. My boss'll be out and about and guess who'll be in charge of the _Enterprise-E_?"

"My favorite first officer." She turned to him and smiled. "My favorite person. My favorite and best friend, forever and ever. My one and only. My never-need-anyone-else. You, Straight Arrow."

"My favorite and best friend, always. My one and only. My one-before-all-others. My sweet and sour, funny and serious, smart and amazing. My Mystic." She put her hand on the side of his face and he put his hand over hers, holding it there. "Do you remember when you were eighteen and I was about twenty-five?"

"You better believe I do. We were both so patient, so much more patient than most young people would have been. I'll have you know, it stood me in really good stead at Canamar."

"Oh?" he pulled back just a touch, surprised. "How so?"

"I was able to bear it while I was in there. I knew there would eventually be an end to the ordeal. And I knew that you – _you!_ You were working on my release. And I knew it was an act of, of love."

"Definitely. Then again, everything is with you." This time, he mirrored her gesture, touching her face lightly. Just barely on the edge of hearing, he said, "C'mere."

She came up close, closer, closest, and their lips softly met. "It's been so long," she whispered. His only response was to wrap his arms around her and move her closer, kissing her deeply.

It was several minutes before they finally came up for air. "I, man, I would have you stay and, and everything that that entails, but we're under a bit of a time crunch."

"Oh my God, I completely forgot! You have that effect on me, Marty."

"You _gotta_ know what you do to me, Mystic." He glanced down for a second. "I mean, more than just the obvious physical reaction."

"Yeah, I get what you mean. Marty?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I know what we can do to fight the law."

"Oh? Keep in mind, like I said, I'm gonna be swamped soon."

"We'll record a message. I think we'll shove off soon, me and the team or at least what's left of us. We'll need to go to Daranaea. I won't keep Crita from her wedding."

"Of course not. Is she happy? I know those are arranged marriages."

"She had a bit of a choice. She likes him, and for the short time I met him, he seemed really and truly decent. So many Daranaean men are still rabidly sexist. He doesn't seem to be."

"It's a start. So, a message. And then what?"

"I'll have the team lawyer file it and I'll do whatever he tells me to do. You'll chime in when you can."

"Works for me. And don't forget, there's supposed to be a family reunion."

"Oh my gosh, it slipped my mind! I'm going to research our family as much as I can. I just, I want to know it all."

"Me, too."

"So, I will definitely see you then. And Geordi and Mike. And, heh, Tamsin. At least she seems to have dropped her ridiculousness."

"Maybe. Hopefully. I hope that's permanent. Okay, Mystic, let's do this." Marty fiddled with his desktop unit a little. "Computer."

 _Working_

"Record our statement today and seal it for the purposes of legal evidence. Verify our identities and then mark the file as having been made by the authentic persons. Verify we are who we say we are."

 _Scans indicate a 99.73% chance that this voice print belongs to Commander Martin Douglas Madden of the USS Enterprise-E._

"I am the other speaker."

 _Scans indicate a 98.61% chance that this voice print belongs to Federation citizen and former convict Misty Dana MacKenzie._

Mack cringed a little. No matter what, even though her record was allegedly expunged, apparently it wasn't, not completely. "Computer, record our statement."

 _Recording_

"My name is Martin Douglas Madden. My father was Thomas Madden. His father was Douglas Madden. His father was Peter Madden and his mother was Linda. His father was Dino Digiorno-Madden. Dino's father was Martin Kevin Madden. Martin's father was Neil Digiorno-Madden. Neil's father was Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett."

"My name is Misty Dana MacKenzie. My father was Richard. His mother was Astrid. Her father was Peter Madden and her mother was Elizabeth. Our common ancestor is Peter Madden. He is great-grandfather to both of us. We are half-second cousins, because of our different great-grandmothers."

"Because we are second cousins, we have been prevented from marrying due to the Cousin Marriage Law. To the court I say, Misty MacKenzie and I are in love and we wish to marry. We have wanted to marry for decades, yet the law says we cannot."

"We know that law was passed in order to prevent the number of child brides, particularly from places such as Daranaea. But as the court can see, Martin Madden and I are not children. We are both in our fifties. The law's purpose, it would seem, is not being fulfilled by its enforcement."

"Therefore we come to you, together, asking not just for leniency for us. We could talk about my record or Misty's fight for justice. But those would be personal things. And while this is a personal matter, to be sure, it is also a rather public one."

"Yes," Mack said; picking up on what Marty was driving at, "fixing it so only we can marry is nice but it's just plain not enough. We feel that we have two purposes in life. One is to love each other. And the other one is to see the end of this law, once and for all. We feel that the intentions behind this law aren't in the same ballpark as how it's been written."

"We propose," he paused for a split second and squeezed her shoulder, "that a new law be debated and passed. It should be one limiting marriageable age by the average life span of a species. If a species lives for 100 years on average, then the minimum age for marriage could possibly be eighteen, or older or younger if that particular species, on average, matured more quickly or more slowly than that."

"And for a shorter-lives species, like a Scalosian, or even an Ocampan, maturity would be determined by whatever is the norm for them. This one-size-fits-all approach is unjust, it's unfair and it's, it's…"

"It's irrelevant," he said. "Irrelevant in that the law doesn't do what it's meant to. Instead, it just hurts good people. And so we are asking the court not just for ourselves, but for anyone else caught in this law's grip, to overturn this law and let justice prevail. Thank you."

"Thank you."

"Computer, seal transmission and provide copies to both of us."

 _Accomplished_

=/\=

They returned to conference room B, where the group was still assembled, although Dr. Crusher had joined them, and the athletes were starting to file in. Tag Shaw arrived with Guinan. Guinan came over to Mack and Marty immediately. "I know about you," she said, without preamble. "There was a temporal dislocation, and I could tell you were – are – in love with each other. No matter what, make sure you can be together. I can't imagine a more compatible couple."

"Thanks," Mack said, smiling.

The captain called for order. Every seat was packed and as more athletes poured in, it became a crowded SRO situation. "I should like to say something," said Picard. The athletes quieted down and everyone stopped fidgeting. "We've had a very difficult time lately, and I well imagine there will be more fallout later. But right now, I am grateful to this team's part in cracking open a mystery and finding someone who should be brought to justice. The work on that is not yet done. But you have paved the way, all of you, even those who were not specifically here beforehand. So I should like to propose a few rewards, some perks for your involvement. Dana?"

"I; thanks. My cousin and I are going to fight the Cousin Marriage Law. And I suppose you would have thought that I would want help with that or for it to be a shoo-in as my perk. But I don't. Marty and I will fight the law on our own, and we would like to win on our own merits, and not on the strength of our contacts, helpful as they may be." She nodded at the captain, who returned the gesture. "Instead, we will fight directly in the courts, just like you're supposed to. So my request is," she thought for a split second, as the request felt like it had come out of left field and she was far from prepared, "it's to get a game on, on Daranaea. Crita needs to go home. And we're her friends and I know I can speak for the entire team when I say that we all want to see her home, together."

"Oh, Dana!" Crita clapped her hands in delight.

"Of course, Puppy Girl." Mack accepted a hug and then added, "We are down an athlete and, a second one?" She glanced at M'Belle.

"I'm afraid so," replied the Caitian. "For those who do not know, my employment – my real employment – is in a far different group. And I will be called upon to go back to doing that work. But I will come to your wedding, Crita, if you let me and if you want me to be there."

"Of course, of course!"

"And we'll be down another person, our Communications Officer, once Crita weds," Mack added. "So I'll need some help. I know all of you are smart, thoughtful, creative, and kind, in addition to being athletic. So talk to me about who wants to do what, and I'll be glad to work with you."

To a person, they all stepped forward.

"Bridge might get a little crowded," she joked. "We'll figure it out. If we need to have ten shifts, then we'll have ten shifts. I just want you to know that you are all included. And none of you will _ever_ be left behind."

Daniya came forward. "I have but one request. I will need to work. I, I still owe to the Syndicate. All Orion women do, and being half doesn't exempt me. I have debts that I have just got to pay. So I welcome your help, but I'll still need to take as many shifts as I can safely handle."

The rest of the team huddled and conferred. Mack tried to join them, but Cilla and Tag shooed her away. "I wonder what the hell they're deciding," she murmured to Marty.

"Secret stuff."

"We would like to announce," Xo said once the huddle had broken up, "that we have enough to pay your debts."

"You don't know how much my debts are," Daniya protested.

"I have land on Risa," Adeel the Witannen said.

"I have collectibles I can sell," Grosk the Imvari volunteered.

"I will call in an old favor," T'Val the Vulcan said.

"My inheritance has come in, and I am willing to spend a good chunk of it," Tarjil the Tellarite said.

Trechek the Andorian vowed to give up a ceremonial sword he owned. Loth, a Gorn, promised a percentage of his wages. Steffa and Dathan, the Tandarans, offered up their next bonuses.

Tag Shaw came over, with a necklace in his hands. He put it on Daniya. "What is this?" she asked.

"It's a common stone necklace from Troilus." He shifted from foot to foot. "Truth is, I bought it for a girl. Yi'Imspi, actually. I had wanted to impress her so badly. But I won't be giving it to her now."

"They mine dilithium there," Wes said. "Tag, this is worth a fortune!"

"And I want you to have it, Daniya. Break your contract with the Syndicate for good, and be as free as the rest of us."

"I, I don't know what to say. How shall I ever repay you? Any of you?"

"Be your usual, honorable, skilled self," Cilla the Klingon said. "And that will be payment enough."

There was a communications chime, and the captain answered it. "I see. Yes, well, that is an interesting turn of events. Thank you. Picard out." He turned to the assembly. "I have just been informed that the number one choice by the remaining flag officers to replace Admiral Caul is the Kreetassan ambassador, Collif." He leaned over and quietly said to Marty, "Forgive me if I am less than perfectly enthused."

Marty grinned. For the first time since he had started on the _Enterprise-E,_ he finally felt that he could relax around the captain. "I'll say nothing," he whispered back.

"Captain, Marty told me you'll be busy, and I get that. So we'll be leaving soon, me and the team," Mack said. "But before we go," she reached over and pulled Marty to her, putting her arm around his waist, "when we win – and I know in my bones that we will – we want you to come to our wedding."

Marty nodded and then a look passed between him and Mack, their usual understated communication that was almost telepathic. "In fact, if it's not too much trouble, we'd like you to officiate."

"I can say nothing but yes."


	18. 18-Gifts and a Ribbon

Their goodbye was difficult but they did what they could to be stoic about it. It was all they could do. "Come back soon," he whispered, holding her close as the rest of the team was already on the _Cookie_ and ready to shove off already.

"You know I will. I've got a date and a promise." She kissed his nose. "I love you so much, Straight Arrow. We'll be together soon." One more kiss and she broke their embrace, turning around to look one more time. She smiled and waved.

Then she turned, and helped Wes and Daniya get the hatch closed for their trip. In their seats on the Bridge, with Wes in Engineering, Crita opened a channel to the _Enterprise-E_ and requested permission to depart. It was Marty's voice that answered. "Godspeed and take care of yourselves. And Crita?"

"Yes, Commander Madden?"

"I wish you all the happiness in the galaxy."

"I wish the same for you."

"Thank you; you and Wes and Daniya and Majira and really the whole team? You are the friends that Myst – er, Mack – has always needed. I'm glad you all found each other. Permission granted to depart."

"Thank you. Daniya," Crita said, "let us go."

"Set a course for Daranaea, at the best speed we can do safely," Mack commanded. "See ya soon, Straight Arrow."

"See ya, Black Sheep. Madden out."

=/\=

On the _Enterprise-E,_ Picard contacted Marty. "Yes, sir?"

"I'm about to contact the V'Shar to inform them that Admiral Nechayev needs to be arrested. I think on Vulcan, they'll be less susceptible to any pleas for consideration without proof. I don't want them to mistreat her, naturally. But I would also prefer that she stayed put. The remaining flag officers support me on this. You'll have the Bridge for a while."

"Understood, sir."

"Martin?"

"Sir?"

"Even though it's no longer strictly necessary, I still think we should have your reunion. There are any numbers of fascinating things to study in the Lafa System. First, we'll stay here at the site of the old Delphic Expanse. I should like to follow up on the Augment rumors."

"Yes, sir. And thank you, sir."

=/\=

Former Admiral Alynna Nechayev went quietly, once she knew the jig was utterly and completely up. The V'Shar allowed her to contact one person, and she chose Jean-Luc Picard. "I've always been fond of our cordial relationship," she said.

"I'm sorry it's come to this." He was in his Ready Room, sipping on some tea.

"I as well. I only trust one person to stop the radiation band cycling for good."

"I see."

"That person is you." She paused for a moment. "I shall have my counsel move to allow access to the controls first, and as quickly as possible. Harriet took it too far. I only came along for a part of the ride, to see if we could communicate with other dimensions and learn from them, and defend ourselves if they proved to be a threat. I didn't intend it as an instrument of conquest and control, and maybe Harriet didn't at first."

"Her personal logs should tell the tale."

"Maybe. The Section destroys so much, and it keeps so much close to the vest. I hope at least, wherever she is, she has found peace. And to you, I offer my sincerest apologies. It was wrong."

"Thank you for admitting that. Picard out."

=/\=

Nechayev's lawyer was nothing if not efficient. The means for turning off the radiation band cycling arrived within the hour. "Mr. Madden," Picard commanded via communicator.

"Sir?"

"Set a course for a rather particular planet in the Expanse. I'm sending the coordinates to you now."

"Right away, sir."

"I'll be on the Bridge in a few minutes. Picard out." He sat at his desk and held his head in his hands for a while. "Alynna Nechayev, damnation. You were a fine admiral until this. I do hope the authorities see this gesture and reward you with at least a small measure of leniency." He returned to the Bridge.

"We have the coordinates. It's apparently Archer's World," Marty said.

"How very interesting."

"It's not even that well explored," Mike piped up. "I guess we'll do the exploring then."

"Always a joy then," said the captain.

=/\=

"How long until we get to Daranaea?" Mack asked.

"At our current course and speed, I'd give it close to a week," Daniya said. "We could go faster, but it will tax the engines too much."

"No, that's all right. I mean, is it, Crita? Do you have a specific date for your wedding?" Mack asked.

"I don't, actually. Our customs are such that we don't set a date. Instead, we wed when we are together. And truth be told, a week's worth of a delay would be better for me."

"I see. Want to talk about it?" asked Mack.

"It's nothing bad. It's more that I want to finish the mural I am painting of the Big – I mean Grand – the Grand Canyon from your world."

"Tell you what. I'll get a bunch of people up here to rotate through communications. Get people used to it because they'll need to take it over soon enough. So go and paint. Don't worry about this."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Now scoot your fluffy patoot, Puppy Girl."

"Half the time, I do not know what you are saying, Dana. But it amuses me." She left.

Mack came over and engaged communications. "Mister Shaw, Xo, Cilla, Grosk? I need for you to come to the Bridge if you want to learn either communications or tactical, or both. Thank you."

=/\=

After a long day of training, Mack had one more chore. No matter how tired she was, the task had to be done. She sat at her desk in her quarters. "Computer."

 _Working_

"Get me Morgan Yarin, Esquire."

 _Accomplished_

Yarin, the team lawyer, was an elderly gentleman with a British accent and a face that was mostly nose. "How are you, Dana?"

"Well enough, and yourself?"

"The same. Did you get a chance to check out the note I sent to you, and its attachment?"

"Of course. I think you two have a case. In fact, I suspect your joint statement can serve as an affidavit."

"I'm assuming that's good."

"It is; otherwise you'd have to go to a star system and testify. I shall file the paperwork in the morning."

"How long until we get a decision?"

"It might be quite a bit sooner than either of us would think. After all, you and Madden are heroes and your ordeal is another compelling angle."

"Well, I didn't undergo it for the angle."

"Of course not. However, those who make the law are anxious to show good faith a lot of the time, and this is an ideal opportunity for them to do just that. And it helps that your arguments are so compelling. Are you certain you never wanted to practice law?"

"Maybe in another timeline or something," she said, recalling Rick Daniels for a split second.

"What's that?"

"Oh, nothing. Morgan, do you think the news will be good when we do get it?"

"We attorneys aren't supposed to say, but I can practically guarantee it. But if I turn out to be wrong…"

"… then I never heard anything from you about it."

"Quite right. Yarin out."

=/\=

It took about the same amount of time for the _Enterprise-E_ to wend its way through the Delphic Expanse and find the right planet. While Admiral Nechayev had probably – Picard wasn't absolutely certain, but he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt – not given them the wrong coordinates, the issue was more that the Section would hide coordinates. Hence, she had provided what she had been told was right. Except it wasn't.

All the while they were wending around, they checked on the Ceti Alpha System and then an interesting rogue planet which might have at one time orbited a gravimetric sphere.

After six days, they were at Ceti Alpha V and were hailed. "On screen," the captain commanded.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" asked a woman in rags.

"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the _USS Enterprise_. And you are?"

"No one you've heard of. What are you flying around here for?"

"We are looking for Archer's World, actually."

"Oh, gee, that's nowhere near here. Will it get you out of here faster if I just give you the coordinates?"

"It would be helpful," Marty interjected.

"Fine." And then she recited the full coordinates from memory. Once the last number had been uttered, she closed the connection.

"I'd say the rumors of Augments are true," said the captain. "That sort of a detailed memory generally only comes with enhancements. Kel Perrim, let's go to Archer's World."

"Aye, sir. I estimate our time of arrival to be tomorrow morning; it's slow going amid all the ruined spheres and little bits of debris here and there."

"Very well. Make it so."

=/\=

On the same day, Crita announced her mural was finished. "And I would like to thank everyone for their kind indulgence," she said as she led nearly the entire team to the running track. "It has been a great deal of work, and I do hope you all like it."

Mack, first in line, saw the finished creation first. "Wow. This is gorgeous!" It was the entire Grand Canyon, and the detail work and sharpened lines made it look just like a photograph. "Wes, you've seen the Grand Canyon in person, right?"

"Once, yeah. Holy cow, this is, it's amazing, Crita! Ha, you even got people on burros in the picture."

"I read about them. And then I had to learn just what a burro is! There is another part, if you will follow me, please."

Just past the image of the Grand Canyon, there was a painting of what looked like an old film strip, with a black border and sprocket holes and everything. "The images are a little hard to follow," Mack said. "What am I looking at?"

"It would be best if you were to run past it, for it is meant for that."

"Uh, all right". Mack turned on the speed she had used to steal bases back in the day. And out of the corner of her eye, she saw what looked just like a movie, all about some of the more amazing plays in all of sports history. There was Bobby Orr's spectacular flying leap of a goal. And there was Secretariat pulling way ahead of the Triple Crown field at the Belmont Stakes. Billy Jean King beat Bobby Riggs at tennis and Willie Mays made the catch of a lifetime as the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series and Michael Jordan dunked. Jack Nicklaus shot a hole in one and Babe Didrikson Zaharias ran track. Mary Lou Retton dazzled in gymnastics and Jesse Owens conquered the Olympic Games as Muhammed Ali knocked out Joe Frazier and Midori Ito skated her heart out and the Jamaican bobsledding team ran on all heart. Just like the Grand Canyon mural, the details were breathtaking and amazing, but they could only be seen while running.

And then the last parts were a blur as Mack realized she was weeping. It was with joy for such an incredible, personal, and amazing gift. And it was with sadness, knowing that Crita would be gone soon, and everything would change. When she jogged back to where the others were, she hugged her friend tightly, and then T'Val presented the team's wedding gift to Crita.

"I, oh, this was so lovely of you."

"Open it, Puppy Girl."

There were several boxes nestled inside a larger one. A small box held season tickets for fifty people, small rectangular bits of polymer with the team's logo and colors on them. "There are so many tickets!"

"We know Daranaeans have large families. We didn't want anyone to be left out," Majira explained.

Another box revealed Black Sheep jerseys in all sorts of sizes. The name on the back was Crita and, instead of a number, it was a heart. "Those are for your family, too, and for your kids when you have them," Wes said.

Crita clutched a jersey to her chest and then opened another box. This one had miniature versions of the equipment used in every sport the team had played, including the table and paddles from Kreesta, the odd Tellarite game which was a cross between table tennis and competitive eating. That one made her smile.

The last box, a thin one, contained but one thing: a tablet. "I, I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I do already have a tablet," she said.

"You don't have this one. Go on, and start it up," Daniya said.

It started with a slideshow, pictures of everyone on the team, even M'Belle and Yi'Imspi, in all sorts of images. It was everything from press photographs to action shots from playing to candid shots where people were just goofing off. Another touch and the slideshow stopped. In its place, there were dozens of messages. "What are these?"

"Since you're in communications," Mack explained, "we all wrote you a note, telling you just what you've meant to us. And we all gave you our contact information. Call us any time, any of us. We all love you and we will drop everything to hear from you and find out how you are, or even just to shoot the breeze. And there's more on the tablet for you to explore, games and things, and of course a subscription to the team channel. We will never, ever be far away."

Everyone on the team huddled and cried, all of them, to a person, and that even included Xo the Jem'Hadar, Grosk the Imvari, and Loth the Gorn, the biggest and toughest athletes.

=/\=

On the same day, Captain Picard and Commander Madden took a shuttle, the _Monongahela,_ to the surface of Archer's World. "There's not a lot in the way of records," Marty explained. "But I did get a hold of, of all things, Eska hunting records. Apparently, there's game here. But I have no idea what those holes in the ground are."

As if in response, there was some clapping and chattering, and odd little creatures, best described as somewhat large clams with feet, emerged from the holes which were apparently dens. In the distance, there were large lumbering beasts emerging from the ocean, and the little clam-like creatures marched in that direction, _en masse_.

Finally, a straggler came out from its den and, in its shell, there was something sticking out, something turquoise in color, although it was dirty and wrinkled. "What the hell?" Marty asked.

His voice must have startled the creature, for it dropped its treasure and ambled off to join its fellows. Picard gingerly picked up the article. "This appears to have been made by an intelligent civilization. Are there records of any such civilization here?"

"No, I mean, except for the Section coming here, no. But I hardly think anyone in the Section would have lost one of those."

"Oh, what is it?"

"I think it's a woman's hair ribbon."

"Curiouser and curiouser. Let's take it back with us."

The two men strolled over to the only other remarkable feature in the landscape, a small platform which was emitting a humming sound they could barely hear. Going over to touch it, Marty's hand hit what had looked like thin air. "Captain, I think this thing, whatever it is, it's cloaked somehow."

"I believe you're right. Set phaser to the lowest setting and we'll see if we can't get the cloak to disengage."

Marty adjusted his phaser and fired. Sure enough, after several minutes, the cloak weakened and the technology could be readily seen. Picard came over to it and pulled back a lever. The humming stopped. "Did we turn it off?"

"I believe so," said the captain. "Let's get this technology back to the ship. It might figure in the trial."

Together, they pulled it out and brought it back with them, as the little clam-like creatures returned with their own prize, a large beast, an amphibious squid with multiple thick legs, was apparently to be their dinner for the evening and probably several evenings at that.

=/\=

That night, Mack and Marty slept in separate beds on separate ships, but they dreamed together, something they had never done before.

 _After a short walk down a corridor and a kiss, they spotted a door, which opened of its own accord. Behind the door were people they recognized._

 _"_ _Lili," Mack said, "it's so good to see you again."_

 _"_ _Yes," she said, all shimmering and glowing. "We all know you forgot before, but in these kinds of dreams, you can remember."_

 _"_ _This is Calafan-style dreaming, isn't it?" asked Marty._

 _"_ _Yes, that's right," said a man who looked nearly exactly like him. "That technology you picked up today, it's loaded with callidium, the same substance which helps Calafans share dreams."_

 _"_ _Are you saying the Calafans made the tech, Doug?" he asked._

 _"_ _No, and I'm not Doug, either. The tech is Romulan, but all they did was purchase the callidium."_

 _"_ _Wait, you're not Doug?" Mack asked. "If you're not, then who are you?"_

 _"_ _Jay Hayes," he said, extending his hand, but their hands passed right through it. "I'm Doug's counterpart in our universe. You own my lucky nickel."_

 _"_ _I suppose I do," Marty said. "My dad gave it to me. And I want to give it to Mystic here."_

 _"_ _That's an excellent idea," Lili praised. "And I believe you have something of mine as well."_

 _"_ _I do?"_

 _"_ _That was my turquoise hair ribbon you found on Archer's World. But we called it Amity."_

 _"_ _How is that possible?" asked Marty._

 _"_ _The NX-o1 was kicked back in time, twice," Jay explained. "And in the first iteration, we fell in love and we wed. And our relationship also encompassed Lili with Malcolm Reed. We didn't marry until after Malcolm's death."_

 _"_ _And in the second iteration," Lili explained, "both Jay and Malcolm died young. And in the prime, correct timeline, I inherited the lucky nickel. So, it's been around a bit, as has the hair ribbon."_

 _"_ _Will we remember any of this?" asked Mack. "After we wake up, I mean."_

 _"_ _No," Jay said. "But you'll remember the feeling."_

 _"_ _Love is all that matters. Our family motto is forever. And we mean it," Lili said._

 _Behind her and Jay, a host of other shadowy figures appeared, Doug, Melissa, Norri, Malcolm, and all the rest. Together, they all said one word as, in separate beds and on separate ships, Marty and Mack woke up._

At the same time, although so far apart, they said the same word. **_Forever._**


	19. 19-Rings, Chaos, and an Apology

Although Crita had requested docking permissions perhaps a thousand times before, this time was different and she was suddenly shy about it. "D-Daranaea, please allow the _Cookie_ to dock at Prisk."

"Permission granted, _Cookie_ ," answered a male Daranaean on screen. He had golden fur and smartly trimmed whiskers.

"Thank you." Crita turned to Mack. "I will need for someone to contact Senjarus."

"Can't you?" asked Mack.

"No, I cannot. I, I know it may sound silly to the rest of you, but for an unmarried Daranaean female to directly contact a Daranaean male is the height of presumption and even scandal."

"Isn't he your fiancé?" asked Daniya as she guided the little ship into a bay in the capital city of Daranaea, Prisk.

"Yes, but that does not matter."

"Is it all right if a human female contacts him?" Mack asked.

"It should be."

"So I just need to make the call and then put you on?"

"No, and oh my, I am sure you will feel we are rather backward indeed, but I cannot speak with him at all." The tips of Crita's fluffy white triangular ears reddened just a touch.

"That's all right. Just tell me what I need to say."

"Please, Dana, tell him that we have arrived and that it would be most agreeable for us to wed after the team's games tomorrow."

"Same day?"

"Oh, hopefully not. I think he will be able to figure out that I mean another day although that might be the day directly afterwards."

"Can't I just make it clear to him?"

"I, I confess I do not know."

"Let's play it by ear, all right?" Crita nodded and tapped out a message on her PADD. The message got to Mack less than a minute later. Mack wiped off the communications earpiece and stuck it in her ear. She tapped on the controls of the communications panel as Crita stood by, anxious, rubbing her hands together and pacing a little.

"Yes, my name is Dana MacKenzie, and I would like to speak to a Senjarus. I understand he lives in Prisk, please. Yes, I can wait a moment, thank you."

"Connecting you now," replied a male Daranaean relayer.

"Ah, I remember you," Senjarus said by way of greeting. "You are Crita's employer, yes?"

"Yes, and her friend."

"Naturally. From every communication I have received about her, that conclusion is obvious: Crita has many friends. I am fortunate to know her."

"As am I," Mack replied, a little bowled over by the overly formal nature of their conversation. "We've just arrived on Daranaea. In fact, we're in the same city as you are."

"Then that is even more agreeable to me."

"I, er, agree that it's, uh, agreeable." Mack facepalmed for a moment. She was not one for diplomatic-style niceties. "Senjarus, we will be playing games tomorrow at your Capital Arena. Afterwards, I suspect you would like to take a bride."

"Yes, yes, I would. My two current wives and I are most eager to bring Crita into our household. I understand athletic competitions are rather tiring for all."

"They can be."

"Then I suggest that we conduct the ceremony a few days after your games. Say, three days later? That will give you a chance to rest and it will give Crita time to pack anything she may need or tie up her affairs and the like."

"Senjarus, we do want to see Crita again, you know."

"Of course, of course! Military exercises do not always permit me to leave our planet, but you and the rest of your team are always welcome in our home. It is my fondest wish and sincerest hope that I may count Crita's friends among my own."

"You can definitely count me as your friend, Senjarus. We have to get ready for our games. I hope you can make it – or is there a tradition not allowing you to see Crita so close to the wedding?"

"There is no such tradition. We will all be there and are looking forward to it with great anticipation. Senjarus out."

Mack took off the earpiece and turned to Crita. "I guess you're getting married in a few days, Puppy Girl."

"Oh, my! I guess I am!"

=/\=

Marty and Captain Picard sat in Picard's Ready Room together. "Impressions?" asked Picard.

"The Section was elbows deep in this one. Not only were they cycling radiation bands, but they were also using technology which was cloaked, on Archer's World. Hell, that alone is a treaty violation."

"It is indeed. And what do you make of Yi'Imspi contacting the Mirror Universe?"

"I'm sure it's as she said, that she was looking to restore the deposed Emperor in exile to power. Plus, I get the feeling the Section had a hand in that."

"Why do you think the level of power wielded by a deposed dictator would matter to the Section? Or, I suppose, to Admiral Caul at the very least?"

"I think Tamsin Porter was right that the main motive for Caul was to create a police state, with the Section acting even more like secret police than they already do."

"I believe you're right. And I'm glad you brought Ensign Porter up."

"Oh?"

"She has put in for a transfer here. I can refuse it, of course. But she's clearly perceptive. Could you work with her?"

"I honestly don't know. Give me a day or so, okay? Let me mull it over. Is that all right?"

"By all means."

=/\=

The _Cookie_ 's holodeck was on and the scene looked like a huge park. Everyone was in sweats. "Okay, listen up, people!" Mack bellowed and they all paid attention. "We are down a couple of players but I think we can get by without them. Crita, tell us about official Daranaean sports."

"Oh, well, all right. We have Ring Throwing. That is played with rings which were first made from wood and are now made from a polymer so they won't splinter. Both teams have a goal they defend. You can run and jump but once you catch or steal a ring, you must stay in one place."

"Can you pivot?" Mack asked.

"No, you cannot. So if you catch the ring and I am between you and the opposing team's goal, then I would throw to you. And then I can start to run again. This means it's a good strategy for a team to have someone always running ahead of the ring."

"You said rings, plural," Wes pointed out.

"Oh, yes! Each team must use the other team's ring to try to score. Let's say the teams are red and blue. If we are the blue team, then our first play is to toss in the direction of our opponent's goal so it is as far from our goal as possible. Then the red team takes possession and starts down the field. At the same time, the red team throws their ring as close to our goal as possible, without going out of bounds. Therefore, we start to move down the field as well, but in the opposite direction."

"What happens if you intercept your team's ring?" asked Cilla.

"You throw it back toward your own goal. The idea is to negate as much of the other team's forward progress as you can. You can even throw in stages, so you might throw to Tag who might throw to Adeel and then Adeel passes the ring to Dana who is within the red team's goal. All of that is acceptable play."

"How many players go on the field at once?" asked Majira.

"There are six from each team. After a period concludes, the teams must completely turn over. There are three separate periods, which means eighteen players. But it is often best to have more like twenty players in order to account for injuries."

"We may not have to do that if I can ply my trade while everyone's on the bench. Can I?"

"I am unsure."

"How does scoring go?" asked Tag.

"For a goal made with only one throw, ten points. Those are rare as it is a very long field. For a goal with two throws, seven points. Three throws mean five points. And anything over three is one point."

"So if you're already at four throws, then you could make fifty more throws and it wouldn't matter," Xo commented.

"Yes, precisely. And if a ring is stolen by the other team, then any throws made to make up for lost ground count toward the total."

"All right," Mack said. "I'm getting an idea about strategy. Each group of six needs at least one fast runner and one good hurler."

"You probably need someone big, like Loth," Crita said.

"For fouls, I bet," Mack said. "How do they work?"

"A player only gets two fouls and then they are out. You get a foul if you touch a player who has possession of the ring. But there are no fouls if you touch a player who does not have possession, unless you foul them hard enough that they must leave the game."

"I bet there's a lot of acting hurt, then," Mack said.

"There is, but too much of that and the team will forfeit."

"Is playing timed?" asked Grosk.

"Yes. It is fourteen Earth minutes per period. The first team to twelve points wins, no matter how many periods or minutes are left."

"What about ties?" asked Steffa, a Tandaran player. "Is it sudden death, or something else?"

"A tie at the end of play is just counted as a tie. There is no overtime."

"Okay, let's do this," Mack said. "Let's put together two teams and start practicing over in that half of the holodeck." She pointed. "Pick your own teams; I'm fine with whatever you do. I just want to see forty people over there and playing as soon as they can." She looked at Crita. "Now what about the other two sports?"

"The first one is Maze Running. It is a pity that M'Belle is not here, as it is best for someone who is small."

"That's okay. We'll use Trechek and Adeel. How many people per team?"

"Three. And it is timed. There are two separate mazes so the two teams do not interact with each other. The first team to get any player to the end gets one bonus, and the first team to get all of their players to the end gets another bonus, which is worth the same as the first one. If there is a tie, then timing decides the matter. And if the timing is also tied, then it is decided through sudden death overtime, and the two teams compete in the same maze at the same time."

"I predict collisions," Majira said. "Are you absolutely certain someone should be small?"

"Yes, for you must crawl under low bars."

Mack furrowed her brow for a second. "Crita, would it be improper if you were to compete?"

"I, I never thought of doing so. But now that I think about it," she scanned the assembly, "it may turn out to be a good idea."

"What's the third sport?" asked Daniya.

"It is Staggered Relay. You run around a track very fast and pick up sticks as you go. For the first lap, there are four sticks and you pick them up. Then you pass to the next competitor on your team and pick up nine sticks. Then the third and last competitor takes all thirteen sticks and must pick up another eleven."

"Do you fight over the sticks?" asked Tag.

"Oh, no. The sticks are colored so as to correspond to a particular team. It is a foul to miss a stick or to drop one. It is also a foul to collide with a runner from the other team. The fastest team, with the fewest fouls, wins. If there is a tie, then each team selects one runner and they have three sticks to pick up. Both runners go at the same time, just like the team play, and as before they are judged by speed and stick retention."

"Okay, let's split off for Maze Running and Staggered Relay. I think I'll probably be better for the relay," Mack said. "With Ring Throwing as a second choice. I'll need another three smaller players to practice Maze Running. That team isn't set in stone yet. Same thing for Staggered Relay. I need fast, coordinated players for that. Let's take the next few days and practice our hearts out. I'm only sorry we didn't get a chance to try these sports earlier. Thank you, Crita."

=/\=

Marty steeled himself and opened up a channel. "Yes, relayer, I would like to talk to Tamsin Porter, on the _Talos_."

"Porter here."

"Are you gonna be ridiculous? This is Martin Madden."

"Uh, no, I won't. I guess I was pretty bad before."

"You could say that."

"I just, I liked you. And then you didn't like me back. So that bothered me, a lot. It didn't even matter that I had already gotten over you."

"I know. And I never wanted you to get hurt. Truly, I did not. It was a stupid move on my part. I picked you out randomly, in all honesty. And maybe our ancestors had a hand in it, just so we could get acquainted if nothing else. I want you to know that I am sorry for any pain I have caused you, Tamsin."

"I, er, thank you. And I apologize, too. I didn't realize until very recently that you're in love with Dana MacKenzie. And I also didn't realize that our work is, well, it's a lot more important than any revenge. Revenge is stupid, anyway. What if I had gotten you fired? Then we never would have gotten to the bottom of what was going on with the Section. And for what? So, I could get back at you? It sounds even stupider when I say it out loud."

"I don't think you meant for it to go quite so far."

"Oh, I did. I've done a lot of growing up in the past few days, and it's probably true that I need to do a lot more. Thank you for being so patient with me. You've been kind, even if you don't think you have."

"Captain Picard says you put in for a transfer here," Marty commented, rapidly changing the subject.

"Yes; I think I can do the most good on the _Enterprise._ And it's also because of you."

"I thought you just told me you were over all of it."

"I did, and I am. It's because we're family. Geordi and Mike are there. So, I think I should be, too. But if you think that's a bad idea, I can always rescind the request."

"No, no, don't take it back. Tamsin, I think you're a fine Ensign and you are going to continue to get better as you continue to mature into your role. I'll be your boss, you know."

"Actually, I think Mike will. I intend to take the night shift."

"You don't have to. We'll deal."

"I want to. And one reason is that I hear there are a lot of hot guys who work your night shift."

"I wouldn't know."

"Anyway, they're also a lot closer to my age."

"See you soon. Madden out."

=/\=

In the next few days, the team practiced all three sports and Tamsin was transferred over to the _Enterprise_.

"Yeah," Wes said in communications, "we're just about ready. And it looks like I've gotten press-ganged into running relay."

"Then my surprise is an even better one," Lakeisha Warren said.

"It is?"

"It is. I was able to get a gig playing the French horn for a human endeavor called Mixed Games on a little place called Daranaea. Ever hear of it?"

"Hot dog! You're gonna be playing at our event!"

"You better believe it. We're docking in about an hour."

=/\=

For the first few moments of play, it was simply chaos. The Starfleet Academy band played a Sousa march and then finished, unsure of how to proceed. Even without the music, it was loud and confusing, as the Daranaean team knew where to go, but the Black Sheep simply did not. Finally, Mack found a referee who just yelled, "Find your game and start playing!" So much for that.

Game play went much like Crita had explained, except that it was exceptionally confusing. It seemed as if Daranaeans, normally so controlled, were reveling in their abandon. But the Daranaean planetary team was only composed of male players. It seemed the sexist society still had a lot of growing to do.

The team played their hearts out, winning Maze Running and Staggered Relay, and losing to the Daranaean planetary team at Ring Throwing.

After the games, both Senjarus and Lakeisha joined the athletes on the field, and introductions were made all around. "This is my Prime Wife, Thayla, and my secondary, Salena." Mack shook hands with all.

Crita looked to Senjarus for his approval and he nodded, so she said, "Lakeisha, it would be our great pleasure for you to come to our wedding."

"I wasn't wangling an invitation or anything."

"We know," said Senjarus. "A friend of Crita's, and a special friend of a friend? You are most welcome."

"Then I accept."

Mack said, as Crita stood next to her. "We love Crita very much. And we know you will, too." She turned to Lakeisha, "The Boy Wonder thinks really high of you, too. And I can see why."


	20. 20-The Scent of Love

Everyone wore their best. Daniya stood between Mack and Majira. Wes was … somewhere. The remainder of the team were seated on either side of a hall. It wasn't a separation by friends or relatives of the bride or groom. Rather, it was a separation by gender. With a gender that split the difference, Grosk waited to see which side was less crowded, and ended up sitting on the distaff side, next to Lakeisha.

Daniya whispered to Mack, "I have never been to a Daranaean wedding."

"Me neither. And now we're in one. I guess we follow Crita's lead although honestly I haven't a clue."

"Shh," Majira said. "Here they come."

It was an enormous entourage, all wearing identical gray tunics, except for Senjarus, who was in white. First were the groom and his two wives plus the bride, then a number of Daranaean females who were either Crita's sisters or cousins, perhaps both. This included Crita's mother, Linatella, in a place of honor. The next groups of Daranaean women were most likely the kinswomen of Senjarus's two preexisting wives, Prime Wife, Thayla, and secondary, Salena. The last one in the back turned to face them as the entourage passed, and beckoned to them.

The three women followed the rest of the entourage to one side of the room as every female in the room was also made to stand on that side. It was family, friends, guests, team members, everyone and that included Grosk.

Then the groom circled back and was followed by a number of Daranaean men who were probably Senjarus's family and then families of his two preexisting wives and after that any Daranaean males who were related to Crita but not to Senjarus. The first of those men was Seramus, Crita's father. All of the Daranaean men, just like the groom, were in identical white tunics. Then following them were Wes, Tag, and Xo from the team. The male entourage stood at the wall at the other side of the room and the male guests and other family members, including the men from the team, joined them.

Workers connected with the hall discreetly moved chairs away so that the two groups were facing each other with no impediments in between. Two Daranaean men, possibly brothers to Senjarus, held him by each arm as a third – his father – blindfolded the groom. The two brothers then brought Senjarus to the distaff side. Everyone was perfectly still and quiet as he sniffed the air around each woman. It was a tradition which was a little unnerving to Mack. When Senjarus and his handlers got to Daniya, she smiled a little. Knowing that Daniya could call upon Orion hormones from half of her heritage, Mack gave the pilot a look. But Daniya just smiled, and the groom and his handlers moved on.

There was the subtlest of gestures when the three were in front of Crita. Mack realized the brothers were squeezing Senjarus's arms, probably a necessary hint among so many females. "It is she!" he called out. They released his arms and he removed his blindfold to find Crita, who smiled at him shyly.

The blindfold was passed to Linatella and the two preexisting wives each took one of Crita's arms as the blindfold was again applied. Mack realized she had lost track of Senjarus, and that was most likely the idea. As before, the three carefully passed by every male on the other side of the room until the group of three stopped in front of the groom. "It is he!" Crita called out.

Senjarus removed the blindfold from his bride's eyes. The two of them joined hands and the two preexisting wives joined hands in a circle around them, joined by the bride and groom's parents. Then another circle was made by the rest of the Daranaean kinsmen and women. That one was huge.

Two kinswomen broke ranks and brought over four small Daranaean children and Mack remembered, they were Senjarus's with his preexisting wives. Another kinswoman came over to where Mack was standing with Majira and Daniya. "Come with me."

"Oh, all right."

They were brought inside the kin circle to make a circle of their own, with Tag, Xo, and Wes and a few Daranaean males and females. Once everyone was in place, silence again reigned.

"You will be my wife," Senjarus said.

"You will be my husband."

"My house welcomes you. We will be together for all time."

"Death will not part us," Crita answered.

The other two wives joined their circle. Together, all four of them said, "The table has four legs. All are needed. All are important. And all are a part of our home."

Kinswomen brought over the four young children and each participant took a child, even Crita, who wasn't a blood relative to any of the children. The four of them together said, "These are our children. Our duty is to love and protect them, educate them and feed them, shelter them and care for them in sickness and weakness. It is our most sacred bond."

The parents were then added to the inner circle, and they all said, "It is our sacred trust to support this marriage. We are all family."

The inner circle then all turned so their backs were facing the inside of their circle and they were facing the next circle, which was the one Mack was in. Senjarus said, "Closest family and honored friends, it is my joyful duty to announce we are married."

Mack felt a lump form in her throat. _Closest?_ She was not much for sentimentality, but the sweet gesture made her eyes sting. She glanced over at Majira, and the Ikaaran was also wiping away a tear.

Then Crita said, "Closest family and honored friends, it is my joyful duty to announce I have found a home."

Then the Prime Wife, Thayla, said, "Closest family and honored friends, it is my joyful duty to announce I have a new sister."

Then the secondary, Salena said, "Closest family and honored friends, it is my joyful duty to announce I have found a friend."

Then Seramus yelled, "Congratulations!" and then the congratulating really started, as numerous people of all species crowded around the happy foursome.

=/\=

The reception was a festival of meats of all kinds. The Daranaeans loved protein in all its forms. There was also milk which Mack realized after a sip was not from a cow or a goat. It was from a Daranaean. A little creeped out by how the beverage had been harvested, she discreetly put her glass down and backed away quickly. Fortunately, there were alcoholic beverages. She found the bar and Lakeisha and warned her, "I hope you don't like white Russians."

"Eh, they're okay. Why do you say that?"

"Let's just say the milk is, er, homegrown."

"Oh, my. I suppose I'll have champagne." She turned to Mack. "Thanks for the heads-up."

"Don't mention it. What do you think you'll do after school finishes?"

"I have no idea. I was considering the Starfleet band. But still, all we do are things like this. We travel, play, and then pack up into the ship and play someplace else."

"Sounds a lot like barnstorming. You know if you chuck it all, we always need a smart hand on deck."

"I'm just a horn player."

"So? When I met Crita, she was doing caricatures in a bar for a living. Now she's in the middle of what I think is the most formal, ritualized wedding I have ever been to."

"I see. Thank you for the offer. I just, you know, I don't know if I should presume so much about things with Wes."

"He loves you. It's obvious to all of us."

"I know, and he says it. He's sweet and very kind. I just, eh, you know, I don't want to jinx it, if that makes any sense."

"In a way. Hey, I gotta go talk to my team. Have fun although I don't know if they do the chicken dance at these kinds of weddings."

Lakeisha laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Mack found Tag. "You seen Wes?"

"Yeah, he was getting something from the buffet. What's up, Coach?"

"Cover for me just a little with Lakeisha, all right?"

"What?"

"Just, I don't want her to see that I'm talking to the Boy Wonder."

"Um, okay." He ambled over to Lakeisha, interposing his bulk in front of her as Mack found Wes.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked as soon as he saw her. "This is a steak lover's paradise."

"Yeah, I suppose it is. Can I tell you something about your girl?"

"Sure. Isn't she wonderful?"

"Absolutely. But I think she's just a little concerned that you're on the same page, if you're following me."

"I guess so. We're in a weird place. Truth is, I would propose tomorrow if I knew it wasn't too early."

"Boy Wonder, I guarantee you could propose today, and it would not be too early."

"You sure?"

"Nonexistent scouts' honor and all of that."

"Then I guess I'd better go." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, Mack."

=/\=

On the _Enterprise-E,_ Marty wrote report after report. On a whim, he contacted Tamsin, who was already settled on board. "How good are you at writing reports?"

"It's probably what I'm best at."

"Want to take a crack at writing the one about Yi'Imspi, Caul, the Section, radiation band cycling, and the Mirror Universe?"

"I'm not doing your work, am I, Martin?" She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oops, I shouldn't presume. Sorry."

"No, it's okay. You're family. And you're not presuming or offending me. It's more that I've got mine written out and I think the flag officers could use a second perspective on the whole shooting match. There are a lot of details and I hope I didn't miss anything, so I'm counting on you to fill in the gaps, okay?"

"You're, you're counting on _me?"_

"As an officer, yes."

"That's what I meant. Seriously, the crush is over, it's dead and buried. And I suppose I'll get right on it."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and how do I address it?"

"Address it? You mean the report?"

"Yes."

"Like normal."

"C'mon, Martin, it's not normal. These are the _flag officers_ we're talking about."

"Wait, have you never reported to them?"

"I never reported to anyone above your rank, Commander."

"I see. Just write to the flag officers and then list them all by name with the president of the Federation first, and then the head of Section 31 – that'll be Collif of Kreetassa – and then the remainder can be in Federation Standard alphabetical order. I'll send you the full list in order so you'll be all set."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I won't let you down."

"Oh, and Tamsin?"

"Yes?"

"Get used to writing to the flag officers. You're going to be doing a lot more of that."

"I, I am?"

"You better believe it. Assuming I can make the recommendation without anyone calling it nepotism, I'll be asking for you to have a more diplomatic role within Tactical. That is, if you want it."

"Would I ever! But, I mean, if they think it is nepotism, then it would be if Geordi or Mike recommended me, too, yes?"

"Yeah, it would. But so far as we know, Picard's not a relation."

"Maybe he is, band or no band. After all, doesn't a millennium make family of us all?"

=/\=

Crita came over to attend to her guests. "I am so very happy. This is an extraordinary day."

"What did the ritual with the sniffing mean?" Daniya asked.

"We have to be able to know our beloved anywhere, at any time. If you can pick your match out of pitch blackness, and amongst a crowd, then it is a true match."

"Speaking of which," Tag said, coming over. "Check them out."

He had left Lakeisha as Wes had arrived. And Wes had gotten down on one knee. The team saw him get up and hug Lakeisha tight.

"What does that mean?" asked Crita.

"It means there's going to be another wedding, Puppy Girl."

"Then I hope they are as happy as we are."


	21. 21-Forever

On March the 27th of 2380, the family reunion was set to take place as originally planned. "I've never been to Lafa II before," Mack commented as the _Cookie_ touched down.

"It's a pity that we had such issues with Yi'Imspi," Grosk said. He was handling communications at the moment.

"Yes, a native guide would have been a good thing," Daniya said. "And," she paused for a moment. "landing thrusters are off. The _Cookie_ has landed."

=/\=

Mack retreated to her Ready Room for a moment, and there was a message on her desktop unit, flashing. It was from Yarin. She gulped. It all seemed to be happening far too quickly. The header showed the distribution list. Aside from her, it was also Marty, and Captain Picard. She was momentarily terrified – what if Marty was about to lose his job, and Yarin was trying to warn him?

Cautiously, she opened the note.

 _To: M. Dana MacKenzie, Martin D. Madden_

 _Cc: Captain Jean-Luc Picard_

 _I attended a hearing at the Federation tribunal this morning, and presented the matter of Ms. MacKenzie and Commander Madden's statements concerning, and objections to, the Cousin Marriage Law._

 _The Federation government, as represented by President Jaresh-Inyo, declined to present any counter arguments._

 _Therefore, the tribunal moved to strike down the law in its entirety. The motion was carried unanimously by acclamation._

 _Congratulations, the Cousin Marriage Law has been repealed._

 _I would like to take this opportunity to also congratulate you on your expected upcoming nuptials._

 _Please feel free to contact me at any time in the event you have any questions pertaining to today's events._

 _Yours, etc..._

 _Morgan Yarin, Esq._

Daniya knocked on the door perhaps a half a minute later when she heard a crash, and had them both transported directly to Sick Bay, as Mack had fainted.

=/\=

"How are you feeling?" asked Majira once Mack came too, less than a minute later.

"I, God, I feel elated and overwhelmed, all at the same time. They struck the law down; it's completely gone. Marty and I can get married!"

"And you'll see him here, yes?" asked Majira.

"Yeah, I will. Can't wait!" She sprang off the Sick Bay bed and turned on her base stealing speed as she dashed out the double doors.

"I'll bet you a Calafan Lo that she and Madden tie the knot today," Daniya said.

"That's a sure bet." Majira turned around as Mack dashed back in.

"I almost forgot."

"Oh?"

"I would like for you to heal me. But first take pictures because I want this to be remembered. I own it."

"Of course. Daniya, if you would excuse us, please."

"Absolutely." The half-Orion, half-Betazoid left.

Mack stripped down completely and Majira took photograph after photograph. "All right, I think I have everything," she said after about twenty minutes of taking pictures of every single indignity that Mack had suffered. "Why don't you put your undergarments back on? I can heal just as well that way, and you wouldn't be so discomfited."

"All right." In just her underwear, Mack stood, waiting.

Majira knelt down, touching Mack's legs first. There were healed fractures. A light glowed in Mack's legs and then in Majira's, and then back again, as the Ikaaran physician did her work. "How do your feet and legs feel?"

"Never better," Mack said. "Hell, I feel better than when I was playing professionally."

"You'll need to have new footwear replicated as your foot no longer pronates."

"Good to know, and thank you."

"You're welcome. And of course, you know I'm not done yet." Majira stood up and held Mack's shoulders. Again, a glow ran from Mack's body to Majira's and back again, encompassing both women's arms and their chests. After several minutes, Majira said, "Take a look now."

Mack took off her top again and stood in front of a mirror in the _Cookie's_ Sick Bay. "It's weird. It's like I was never incarcerated."

"How do you feel?"

"Like I'm twenty again." She put her clothes back on. "I also had head injuries."

"Understood." This time, Majira placed a hand on each of Mack's temples, pressing in very, very lightly. And so, there were two separate glows. One traveled between the women as per usual. The other one ping-ponged around. "I'll need to scan for the part I couldn't get."

"All right."

A scan involved a bio bed, reversed into a large tunnel-like machine. "This," Majira explained, "is technology which was state of the art on your old _NX-01_."

"A few hundred years old?"

"Yes, indeed. But it still works for this particular purpose." She read a display above Mack's head as she reversed the bed out of the machine's inner chamber. "How very intriguing."

"Anything bad?"

"I don't believe so. But I suspect there is something in your brain chemistry and in your structures that is just the slightest bit different from other humans. It deserves some study of everyone in your family."

"What do you think it is?"

"It's a structure Daniya has, from her Betazoid half. It's the seat of her psionic abilities."

"Holy cow."

=/\=

Within the Lafa System, Kel Perrim expertly piloted the _Enterprise-E_ around a ton of odd gravitational fields. These were not due to the presence of gravimetric spheres. Rather, they were because of the fact that the Lafa System had four separate stars, which each had their own planetary systems. A planet could potentially have Abic – the second-largest star, which was yellow like Sol – as its sun but Ub – the smallest, a red dwarf – as bright in its night sky as the Earth's moon. Navigating the system, even in such an advanced craft, was a matter of starship-level figure eights and minuets.

"Mister Madden, I should like to see you in my Ready Room, please. Kel Perrim, you have command."

"Yes, sir," replied the Trill, who stayed at the pilot's station in order to continue guiding the ship around the system's many obstacles.

In the Ready Room, when they were about ready to sit down, they were interrupted by a burst of static and distorted shimmering in the middle of the room. The distortion coalesced into the shape of a person. "Where is Caul?" the distortion asked, in a voice that was as distorted as it looked. It was not possible to tell if that person was male or female, human or some other species.

"Admiral Caul committed suicide," Picard replied. "And who might you be?"

"Never mind that." The distortion stabilized for a moment and the voice and image were clearer – it was a woman. "In her place, you will do what we tell you to, if you know what's good for the timeline."

"The timeline is perfectly fine," Marty said. "Miss, whoever the hell you are, even if the timeline was shot, why the hell would you expect us to take orders from _you?"_

"You're not supposed to be this way," she answered. Then she turned, hearing or seeing something that they could not. "What? Damn. I'll have to make this quick. My heritage compels me to work with you. And yours should compel you to work with _me."_

"Heritage?" asked Picard. "What is so compelling about _your own?"_

"I am Phillipa Green. And my forebear had the male version of my name."

Marty blinked and thought for just a second. "Colonel Green? You must have us confused with the Mirror Universe, because there's no way in hell we would ever want to work with someone like _you."_

"You will," she menaced, and then was clocked hard, from her left. She fell like a sack of potatoes.

But now the shimmering was doubled, and her assailant was distorted, as was his voice. "Don't listen to her," he said.

"We were planning on doing no such thing," Picard said.

"Good," replied the distortion, which snapped into focus.

"Rick Daniels?" Marty asked.

"One and the same. I don't normally go whacking people upside the head during my missions, but we had just finally finished putting your time period back together. I'll be damned if I let either half of Future Guy do that."

"Caul's dead," Picard said.

"Another variation, I think," Rick said. "But maybe not. As I've explained, we don't know every single nuance out there."

"They were contacting her," Marty said. "And I suppose they were looking to do the same with us."

"That Green woman wanted to manipulate us to suit her agenda, I imagine," Picard said.

"You better believe it," Rick said. "I'll shut off this connection. She and Jim Horan – the other half of Future Guy – they have trouble remaking connections once they're turned off. So, once I cut this one, the chances of them being able to reconnect are vanishingly small."

"Thank you," Picard said. "Although I do hope that doesn't mean other timelines are in danger."

"Maybe, maybe not," Rick said. "That's why I'm here, anyway. Their meddling is essentially a temporal Cold War and I'm here to stop it. Once Phillipa wakes up, I'm sure she'll try to smack me back. Eh, I can take it. Goodbye again, gentlemen. It's been an honor. And please tell Dana and the rest of the thirteen that I said hi."

"Will do," Marty said.

"Daniels out." The shimmering stopped.

"Well, that was of interest," Picard said.

"Never dull, eh?"

"Most certainly not. I also wanted you to know the hair ribbon you discovered on Archer's World?"

"Oh, yes?"

"I did my best with my own knowledge of archaeology to find out its age. It's a few hundred years old. Perhaps it's a part of your heritage as well."

"What did you just say, Captain?"

"The ribbon; perhaps it's a part of your family's past."

"It, I think it is," Marty said. "I'm, it's weird, I'm remembering little bits of this and that. Nothing cohesive. But I think you're right."

"Then it's a good thing we're here in the Lafa System. There's talk of building a Temporal Museum eventually. I imagine an artifact such as the ribbon would be of great interest to them."

"I'm sure it would. It was, I think it was Lili O'Day's. I just, something tells me. It's a feeling I've got."

"And speaking of feelings," Picard said, gesturing for Marty to sit down as he also took a seat. "That makes me think of emotions. You're here and so is Dana, your only known family is also here, and you're free to wed. Shall I draw a map for you, sir?"

"No, of course not," Marty said, grinning.

"Good. Assuming she's amenable, then I am ready whenever you are."

"Thank you, sir."

=/\=

The Black Sheep team left the _Cookie,_ walking down the gangway to the surface of Lafa II. The day was mild and the fields were golden and lavender, beauty and nature amidst technology, as a bank of emitter dishes that looked like old-fashioned satellite dishes dotted one hill that was higher than all the others.

"Where should we go?" asked Wes.

"The old homestead," Mack said.

"Have you ever been?" asked Daniya.

"No, and I have no map or directions or address. I just, I have a feeling." She started to walk, and the team followed behind her.

It was as if she had known the way all along, for she didn't waver or get lost. The team came across a small turquoise house, easily a few hundred years old, with a small graveyard behind it with seven stones, and another turquoise house, probably of the same vintage, just up a little rise behind it.

The woman standing in the doorway was older, her hair gone white. Her skin was pale, and her eyes an impossibly light crystal blue. "Lili?" Mack asked when she approached her.

"I'm actually your relative, Lilienne Charlotte Hayes. My first two names are in the opposite order to our matriarch Lili. People even say I look like her, and that flatters me. Do come in. But I don't think there's room for everyone."

Mack turned to the team. "We obviously can't all fit inside."

"That's okay," Tag said, "you go with Majira and Wes and Daniya. The rest of us will play, heh, tag or something."

"Mind the headstones," Mack said.

"Of course. None of us would ever dream of bothering or disrespecting your ancestors."

=/\=

On the _Enterprise-E,_ Picard asked Marty, "Do you have specific coordinates for the shuttle?"

"No, I actually don't. But I just, I can't explain it, but I know the way."

"Picard to Daniels, Porter, and LaForge," the captain tapped his communicator pin. "Do join us in the Ready Room."

Once the others arrived, Picard asked them the same question. And, more or less, he got the same answer. "Curious," he remarked.

"Norri's book said Lili probably had latent psionic abilities before the Calafans ever captured her," Tamsin explained. "But they really went from zero to sixty once she was in the Lafa System."

"Then perhaps the same is true of all of you," the captain commented. "Shall we?"

=/\=

Setting foot on the soil of Lafa II was an exciting experience for all, but especially for the family. The air was fresh and clean, the landscape pastoral if a little dusty. "It feels and smells like Australia," Tamsin remarked.

"I've never been there in person," Geordi said. "On the holodeck, sure, but never for real."

"Well, this is for real, Cuz," Mike said.

"Which way should we go?" Picard asked.

Marty gave a quick look at Mike, Tamsin, and Geordi. "Over here, just past this ridge." The others nodded.

"Lead the way, then," the captain suggested.

It was a short walk. Just past the ridge, the area was dotted with emitter dishes. On the other side of the ridge, it was lower, giving it the appearance of a fairly high hill. "This must be Point Abic," Mike said.

"Then we're close," Tamsin said.

"And there's the _Cookie,_ just where I'd expect her to be," Geordi pointed out.

A jog farther down the hill and past the ship, a little farther, and they were at the back of a small gravesite. Members of the Black Sheep team were on an adjacent yard, either running races against each other or timing the racers. The landing party waved at them.

Nearby, small animals that looked like hares with tusks scampered. They were a species native to the planet – linfep.

Just in front was the house. "This is it," Geordi said. "This is, it's home."

"And so is that," Tamsin said, pointing up a little rise where there was a nearly identical house.

"That's the Reed House," Mike said. "My and Geordi's direct ancestor. Geordi's also Hayes, and Tamsin and Martin here are both only Hayes."

"So, you should get two sets of keys, then, Mr. LaForge," said the captain.

"I suppose I should."

=/\=

Inside, they saw the newcomers approach. It was obvious there wouldn't be enough room for everyone in the house. "Let's do this," Lilienne suggested. "We can take the dining table outside, near the headstones but of course not on top of them. And then if a few kind folks – Kevin, Tina, if you could get the dining table from the Reed House, that would be most helpful."

"My team can help carry anything you need them to," Mack volunteered. "Talk to Daniya or Wes or Majira. They're in charge. And looking around, I realize there's no way there would ever be enough seats for them. Is there what to do nearby?"

"Fep City is a funky place. They could tour there, if they liked," Sheilagh Hayes Porter suggested. She was a brunette middle-aged woman – Tamsin's mother.

"That would be perfect," Mack said as Kevin and Tina, who were both light in skin color, but not as light as Lilienne, left with the key to the Reed House.

Mack ventured outside with the rest of the family behind her. "Hey," she said. "Glad you found the place."

"We just _knew,_ Mystic."

"Same here. Weird, eh? Then again, Majira says I have some structure in my brain that seems to be similar to what Betazoids have. And it's apparently the seat of psionic ability."

"I suspect we all have that," Lilienne said. "Once Tina and Kevin are back, let's all introduce ourselves and our branches of the tree. Oh, there they are now. Your team is truly efficient."

"They only want to help. They're a terrific group of people. I am so lucky and blessed to have them in my life."

They must have taken every stick of furniture outside that anyone could possibly ever sit on. Lilienne's guests did the same, and there were more than enough chairs for the family. "I propose this," Lilienne said. "If you on the team wouldn't mind, please go and enjoy Fep City. It's truly unique and beautiful. And if you go to the intersection of Enne and Dary Streets, then you'll see where Lili's old restaurant, _Reversal,_ once stood. It's gone now, but there's a small plaque."

The team made as if to leave and Mack said, "We do have a few extra chairs, it seems. Could Wes, Majira, and Daniya stay? I realize you already have a trillion people here, Lilienne. To me, they're as close as family."

"Of course," said Lilienne, "a few extra at this point, it doesn't matter. And you, Captain Picard, I hope you'll stay, too."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Tag said, "Okay, people, let's saddle up. Coach, we'll be back, eh, I guess when it gets dark. If you want us earlier or later, give a shout."

"Will do. And thanks."

He nodded and left with the rest of the team.

The family put out dishes and foods, a spread to feed an army. There were salads made with all sorts of colorful lettuces and fruits; spinach cooked with onions and cheddar cheese, roasted potatoes, steak, and chicken and extra helpings of tofu for vegans. Desserts were oranges and fortune cookies, a roasted pineapple tart, and blueberry cobbler.

Marty remarked, "I think this is the best food I have ever had."

"Every morsel is from Lili O'Day's old recipes," said a cousin, Jay. "Even after her death, she's feeding us."

"I think the oldest person here should go first," Lilienne said, once the dishes had cleared and everyone had coffee or tea or wine. "And I believe that's you, Mr. Daniels."

"I suppose it is." A distinguished-looking man, silver at the temples, rose. "My name is Douglas Daniels, and I was born in 2305. And here's how I trace back. In 2182, Malcolm Reed wed Lili O'Day. Their son, Declan Reed, first married Louise Schiller in 2190, and then Rebecca Shapiro in 2213. Their son, Peter Matthew Reed, was born in 2214. His son, Charles Malcolm Reed, married Amy LaForge Torres in 2259. Their daughter, Cynthia Reed, married Jason Daniels in 2300. Those are my parents. I married Paige Shaw in 2335, and then my son, Mike, arrived on the scene in 2341." He looked up. "Should I explain the LaForge branch?"

"I could," said a man sitting next to Geordi. He rose to speak. "My name is Edward LaForge and I was born in 2322. I, too, am from the Reed branch. I'm also from the Hayes branch. But let's talk Reed first. Just like Doug here, I'm from Malcolm to Declan, but then from Declan's other son, Stuart, who was born in the 2200s and married Susan Delacroix. I think that was 2240 although I admit I'm unsure. Their daughter, Eleanor, was my mother. She married Justin LaForge in 2282. My wife was Silva Alvera and my children are here, Geordi, born in 2335 and Ariana, born in 2337. Amy LaForge Torres was my aunt – she was Justin's sister and first wed a man named Torres and then, after they divorced, she wed Charles, a man she knew from her own family reunions, as he was first cousin to my mother, her sister-in-law. Does anyone else want to handle Hayes? I think I'm all talked out."

"I'll go, then," said another distinguished-looking older gentleman with steely gray hair, standing up. "I'm Jay Neil Hayes. I was born in 2307. My sister, Lilienne, is our gracious hostess today. I leave it to her to tell you her birthdate."

The assembly laughed a bit and Lilienne said, "I don't mind. I was born in 2309."

"As I was saying," Jay continued, "my daughter, Sheilagh is here. She was born in 2331, and married Don Porter, who was born in 2329. Their wedding was in 2352 and then Tamsin arrived in 2354. Now let's go back to Doug. I mean the original Doug, not Daniels over there. Doug Hayes changed his name to Beckett and married Lili O'Day in 2157. Then their son, Jeremiah, was born in 2158. He was called Joss. Joss and Jia Sulu wed in 2185. Their son, Jay Beckett, I forget his birthdate but he marries, I think, in 2229. His kids were Lilienne Melissa and Douglas Malcolm, who changed the family name back to Hayes. I think. Maybe Jay did? Not sure there. Doug married Penny Webb in 2265 and their son was Steven Hayes, who married Lucy Kimura in 2301. Steven and Lucy were my and Lilienne's folks."

"I'm noticing a number of repeated names," Picard commented. "I take it that's a family tradition."

"Most likely," said Kevin. "Me, Coach?"

Mack turned. "Uh, sure." Then she laughed. "Wait, I think you meant Lilienne. I'm just used to being called Coach."

"Then I defer the title to you, my dear," said Lilienne. "Kevin, you're on."

"Thanks. I was born in 2344. We're also from Stuart Reed, just like the LaForge branch. But we're from Stu's son, Scott. He married Hanna MacKenzie Richmond; that was in around 2280 I think. They had Kyle and Tina. Kyle was born in 2290 and he married Sandra Miller; they were my parents. And Tina's my aunt, of course. She was born in 2291, right?"

"Yes, you little stinker."

Marty and Mack both stood up. "I guess it's our turn," she said. "You go first, Straight Arrow."

"Straight Arrow?" asked Tina.

"Yeah," Marty said. "It was a family joke. I was the straight arrow and Mystic here – er, Misty – she was the black sheep."

"Hence the team name," Mack said. She nodded at Marty.

"We come from Neil, and we seem to be the only ones. Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett had an open marriage, and he fathered three sons with Melissa Madden. They were Tommy, Neil, and Kevin. Kevin died young and Tommy never married. All of this is according to some of the book, which I'm sure you've all read."

"Except for me, and I suppose I should now," the captain remarked.

"I'll send it to you," Marty said. "Neil was born in 2159, and he didn't marry the mother of his children, Ines Ramirez. Back then, they were Digiorno-Madden, named after Norri, and Neil's first name is kinda, sorta for hers, although she was really Leonora, but I digress. Anyway, their son was Martin Kevin, and he was born in 2195. He married Tanya West. Their son was Dino Digiorno-Madden; he was named after Norri's father. Dino was born in 2215, and he married Phoebe Ryan, who was born in 2217, but she died childless in 2236. He was widowed for a long time and finally remarried in 2245. That marriage was to Kirsten Morrow, who was born in 2219. Kirsten didn't take his last name, and their son only went by Madden, so Phoebe is the last person named Digiorno-Madden." Marty stopped for a breath. "Their son, Peter Madden, was born in 2251. He married Linda Klinghofer and their son was Douglas Madden, born in 2274. His first wife was Sheilagh Reynolds and then he married Elizabeth Miller. Thomas Madden is my father; he was Sheilagh's son and he was born in 2301. My mother was Ellen Reed and it wouldn't shock me if she was related somewhere in there as this family tree seems to twist and turn over itself repeatedly. I was born in 2322." He nodded at Mack.

"Okay," she said as Marty sat down. "Remember all that?" She smiled. "It's fine if you don't. I'm sure we'll all write this down and compare notes even more at some later date. So, from all of that, let's go back to Pete and Linda, and their boy, Doug. I'm from Doug's sister, Astrid. She was born in 2279. She married Stuart MacKenzie, born in 2271, and their son was Richard MacKenzie. Richard was my dad; he was born in 2299. My mother was Laura Cole, born in 2297. And I arrived in 2329." She thought for a moment. "You know, the MacKenzie side goes back to the _NX-01 as_ well. Stuart's father was Dwight; Dwight's father was Erik, and Erik's father was Steven. Steven's parents were Susan Cheshire and Aidan MacKenzie. Aidan was Tactical on the _NX-01_ and on Malcolm Reed's own ship, the _Bluebird._ Susan was the ship's teacher on the _Bluebird."_ She smiled. "We have a Ryan in there, too, but I don't know if Kate – Erik's wife – was any relation to Phoebe."

"You all seem to have studied this closely," Picard said.

"We have," Lilienne replied for all of them. "This is our bond. And it is our legacy. It's our homes, our abilities, and in our nature. This is our DNA."

"I feel I've intruded too much already," Daniya said. "I need to, I don't know, I think we should let you all alone. This is you; it's not me or Majira, or Wes, or even the captain, not really. And don't object, okay? Because while I love you like a sister, Dana, I'm not blood." She got up and the people she'd named followed her. They hiked up the rise to look at the Reed House close up.

The thirteen family members all got up and walked over to the gravesite. "It feels like they're with us," Jay commented, and they all murmured their agreements.

The graves were for Tommy Digiorno-Madden, Kevin Madden-Beckett, Leonora Digiorno, Melissa Madden, Malcolm Reed, Charlotte Lilienne O'Day, and Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett. People gravitated to whichever stone spoke the most to them. Lilienne stood at Lili's grave, with Jay and Marty both at Doug's. Kevin stood at Kevin's, and Tamsin and Tina at Tommy's. Geordi, Edward, and Ariana stood at Norri's, and Douglas and Michael stood at Malcolm's. Sheilagh joined Lilienne at Lili's grave. Mack was nonplussed for a moment, and walked straight to Melissa's.

She touched the stone, which felt cool, even though it was a warm day. And she heard a whisper, barely on the edge of hearing. It was but one word: **_forever._** Glancing around, Mack could see the others were receiving similar communications. Together, as a family, they listened, and they wept.

=/\=

At the Reed House, Captain Picard was looking around a cheery yellow kitchen when he received a communications chime. "Yes?"

"Captain," said Marty, "could you have B-4 beam down?"

"I don't see why not. Can you tell me why?"

"We're calling you and the team back as well. I want Mystic to have her closest friends with her. And, frankly, I'd like to have mine."

"I shall make it so immediately. Picard out."

=/\=

Once they were all assembled again, Marty cracked open his fortune cookie. His fortune was: _the time is now._ Mack cracked hers open and it said: _you know the answer already._

In the dust, near the carport and the tables, the gravesite and the houses, and among his family and friends, Marty got on one knee. "Mystic," he said. "You have always been the one. Let us be one. Marry me. Please."

"You better believe the answer is yes." She held his hands as he got up and they hugged. She turned to the captain. "Can you do the ceremony now, here?"

"Yes. Shall I begin?"

"Please," said Mack.

"It is one of the most honorable and romantic traditions for ship's captains to serve as officiants at weddings. And I am so very proud and happy to continue that tradition, as the captain of a starship. Have you vows?"

"Yes," Mack said. She had nothing at all planned, but the words tumbled out in a flood anyway. "The most important thing is for us to be together. It is our need and our nature. Our love binds us, and it strengthens and nurtures us. Our family motto is **_forever._** And I believe that."

"Mystic, I loved you even before you were born. And I will love you beyond death. Now I know that's possible. With our family, and our line and our traditions and our heritage, it's not just possible. It's _destined._ MDM Twins forever."

"MDM twins forever." She looked at the assembly. "My name is Misty Dana MacKenzie."

"And my name is Martin Douglas Madden."

"That's how and why we became the MDM Twins. And of course, it's more than that. It goes past the bone and the breath and the skin. It goes to the soul."

"If I may," the captain said, "I believe for both of you, this has been not just about ordeals and hardships, delays and injustices. It has also been about identity. I think that's the truth about not just the two of you, but all of us. For B-4, it's been to come out from under Data's shadow and become his own person. And for your family, it has been about belonging. For the two of you in particular – your name, Dana – it's been an assortment of appellations throughout your life. Dana, Mack, Coach, second base, shortstop, criminal, prisoner, Black Sheep, MDM, Misty, and Mystic. You have been a chameleon. And I think, to an extent, you have as well," he turned to Marty, "Martin, Marty, Straight Arrow, Cadet, Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, and MDM, just like your bride. My greatest wish for you is that you both now know who you are."

"We do," Marty said. "We are the luckiest people in this or any other universe."

"And in this or any other timeline," Mack said.

"Then I now pronounce you married. You may kiss the bride."

They kissed as their family and friends applauded. And behind the applause, her eyes closed, Mack heard voices and saw visions. It was everything from how to speak Calafan to how to use a phase bow, and how to make a roasted pineapple tart, and how to tie a turquoise hair ribbon and work the video walls in the Hayes and Reed Houses, and where to find extra secret photographs for Norri's book, and so much more. Her visions were of the family, their friends, and even a few little children who she realized were going to be hers and Marty's. It felt as if the knowledge of the universe – and maybe also of the Mirror – was being presented to her, all in that one kiss, that one instant.

And through it all, there was one word that thundered in her head.

 ** _Forever._**

THE END


	22. 22-Epilogue and Thank You

Thank you for reading, for listening, for commenting and reviewing. More than anything else, thank you for being here.

I first wrote Star Trek fan fiction in – I think – 2009. But it didn't really take off until _Reversal a_ nd _The Light,_ both from 2010. When I first started, Lili and I were both 48. I am now 56, older than Doug was during _Reversal._ Doug is 56 during a short story called _A Kind of Blue,_ where he and Lili get married. Lili is 56 in _Fortune_. Malcolm is 56 during one part of _Fortune_ (a fast forward), and so is Melissa. Norri is 56 during a story called _Bread_.

Maybe those are crazy things to keep track of, but I do. I have written over 1.7 million words of Star Trek fan fiction. In the timeline, the first event occurs somewhere between 12,000 and 10,000 BC, when the Calafan people undergo speciation and split into silver (our universe) and copper (the Mirror). That event gets shout outs in several stories, including _Reversal._ And the last event occurs in 4110 AD, when future observers notice a megaotric (large and consequential) event, during a story called _He Stays a Stranger,_ where Rick Daniels is the star.

There are only two unfinished stories. One is a collaborative effort that seems to have stalled indefinitely, _Paradox_. The other, _These Are the Destinations_ , remains open-ended for now, and maybe even forever. It was the open-endedness of _Reversal_ that kicked off so many sequels, prequels, and parallel stories. And such open-endedness also served as a comfort, to know that the story never really ends, and a goodbye is not for good.

And so, I take my leave, finishing my take on Star Trek via the medium of fan fiction. Will I return? I cannot say. Never say never. But my cloudy crystal ball says no, as I want to concentrate on wholly original works which is where my own personal future lies. Colony aliens and Witannen have finagled their way into my original works, renamed for clarity's sake (and for the breath of copyright's sake as well). Maybe others will find a home there.

Mack's story took me years to write, as I became exceptionally busy and I didn't want to let go. But now is the time.

I'm not worried any more. After all, we've got **_forever._**

Thank you.

Love, jespah


End file.
